Deadpool 2 dethrones Avengers: Infinity War, but doesn’t beat predecessor
Call it the Avengers: Infinity War effect? Most experts expected Deadpool 2 to take the box office crown from Marvel Studios’ latest juggernaut. On that front, the sequel to the Ryan Reynolds R-rated comedy was a success. But by the Deadpool’s franchise’s standards, this weekend’s $125 million haul is likely a minor disappointment.
Deadpool kicked the door down in 2016 when it set an R-rating record with $132 million. Deadpool 2 earned a very solid $125 million. That’s still cause for celebration even though it’s not the normal trend for the sequel to a breakout hit. Worldwide, Deadpool 2 pulled in a very respectable $301 million. The film did set some records with a new Friday opening mark for an R-rated film of $53 million.
You have to wonder if going up against Avengers: Infinity War didn’t siphon some of Deadpool 2’s potential big box office haul. And how Solo will fare next weekend trying to make a dent against both films.
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Avengers: Infinity War dropped to second place with $28 million to take its total to $595 million. The fourth highest grossing movie of all time keeps rolling globally with $1.81 billion as it looks to join Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($2.06 billion), Titanic ($2.18 billion) and Avatar ($2.78 billion) in the $2 billion club.
Book Club, the best counter programming option for audiences exhausted over superhero films, brought in $12.5 million.
Black Panther is out of the Top 10 as it’s now available on home video, but added another $823,000 to add to its $698 million total. I’m still counting on the film cracking $700 million domestically when the inevitable theatrical re-release for award season occurs.