‘Deadpool’ kills it with a record $135 million
R-rated superhero blasts past rivals at the box office
Time to crack open the celebratory cheap wine for Deadpool, which soared to a head-turning, historic opening weekend at the box office with $135 million, according to studio estimates.
The R-rated superhero movie, featuring Ryan Reynolds as Marvel’s foul-mouthed, irreverent Deadpool, set a slew of new records: the biggest R-rated opening ( beating 2003’s The Matrix Re
loaded, which opened with $91.8 million), the biggest February weekend and biggest President’s Day four-day weekend ( beating 2015’s Fifty Shades of Grey, with $85.2 million for the former and $93 million for the latter).
Deadpool is expected to take an overwhelming $150 million over the full four-day holiday weekend.
Deadpool was a hit on every level, scoring 84% critical approval on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes.com and an A from audiences on CinemaScore. Producer Simon Kinberg told USA TODAY Friday that he sent a special gift to Reynolds and his co-stars to celebrate: boxed white wine.
Deadpool laid waste to the other major film openings, which included Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson’s Zoolander 2 and Rebel Wilson and Dakota Johnson’s How to Be Single.
Second place for the weekend went to Jack Black’s familyfriendly animated Kung Fu Panda
3, which made $19.7 million ($93.9 million total after three weeks of release). Panda 3 is projected to pass the $100 million mark at the end of the four-day weekend.
How to Be Single took third with $18.8 million.
Zoolander 2, which brought back Stiller and Wilson’s famed male models from 2001’s Zoolander, ended in a catwalk stumble and a disappointing fourth with $15.7 million.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s starring turn in the awards contender The Revenant rounded out the top five with $6.9 million for $159.2 million total after eight weeks.
Final numbers are expected Tuesday.