The superhero film Deadpool & Wolverine, featuring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, directed by Shawn Levy, is setting new records both domestically and globally. According to Sacnilk, the movie has achieved over ₹60 crore in its opening weekend in India. On Sunday, it earned ₹22.50 crore, slightly down from ₹22.65 crore on Saturday, and opened at ₹21 crore on Friday, making the total ₹66.15 crore for the weekend.
In the US and Canada, Deadpool & Wolverine raked in $205 million over the weekend, marking the largest domestic debut of the year and the highest opening for an R-rated film, surpassing Warner Bros’ Joker, which eventually grossed over $1 billion after its 2019 release.
This third installment in the Deadpool franchise, which brings back Reynolds and Jackman as the beloved foul-mouthed superhero and X-Men mutant, respectively, is a significant addition to Disney’s portfolio following their $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019. These characters are now considered among the most valuable assets acquired, alongside Avatar.
The triumph of Deadpool & Wolverine breathes new life into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a series of 34 interconnected films that collectively have earned over $30 billion at the box office, making it Hollywood’s most successful movie franchise. This success comes at a crucial time as the superhero genre has seen underwhelming performances with recent releases like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, The Marvels, DC’s The Flash, and Shazam! Fury of the Gods all failing to break even.
This film marks a turnaround for Disney’s film division, which hasn’t been profitable since April 2022. Globally, Deadpool & Wolverine has amassed $438 million in ticket sales. Prior to this, the highest opening weekend in the US and Canada this year was Inside Out 2, which has grossed $1.46 billion since its June release.