Deadpool bazookas box office with $135M debut

20th Century Fox was so confident in its newest comic hero film they announced a Deadpool sequel was green lit even before the first film hit theaters.

Clearly that decision wasn’t just wishful thinking as Deadpool obliterated box office records and signaled the arrival of cinema’s next big franchise.Deadpool earned a staggering $135 million far away eclipsing the previous R rated record holder The Matrix Reloaded’s $91 million. 

It was sweet redemption for star Ryan Reynolds who hadn’t enjoyed a true breakout hit despite being in high profile films including Green Lantern and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which were his previous best openings at $53 million and $85 million respectively.

In other records, Deadpool also easily outpaced the all-time best February record-setter Fifty Shades of Grey, which set the mark at $85 million just last year.

Considering its modest $58 million  budget and $125 million international haul this was a big win for Fox, which has struggled in expanding its superhero universe beyond The X-Men.

With Deadpool dominating the box office there wasn’t much love left on Valentine’s Day for the rest of the new releases.

Coming in at second place was two-time champ Kung Fu Panda 3 with $19 million taking its total to $94 million.

In third was the Rebel Wilson, Dakota Johnson, Leslie Mann romantic comedy How to Be Single with $18 million.

Zoolander 2 couldn’t recapture the magic of its predecessor and had an underwhelming $13 million debut.

The Revenant wrapped the Top 5 with $6.9 million to bring its total to $159 million. Following its presumed multiple Oscar wins don’t be shocked to see the Leonardo DiCaprio drama reach $200 million.