In a rare cinematic moment, Hollywood power couple Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have simultaneously topped the U.S. box office, marking the first time in 34 years that a married pair has achieved this feat. Ryan Reynolds’ latest Marvel blockbuster, Deadpool & Wolverine, has continued its reign at the North American box office, earning $54.2 million this weekend and surpassing the $1 billion mark globally. Meanwhile, Blake Lively’s romantic drama, It Ends With Us, made an impressive debut with a $50 million opening in North America.
The Reynolds-Lively box office rivalry saw both husband and wife emerge victorious. Deadpool & Wolverine, starring Reynolds alongside Hugh Jackman, is the second R-rated film to gross over $1 billion, following the success of Joker in 2019. The film, directed by Shawn Levy, has quickly become one of the most successful Marvel releases, second only to Disney’s 2024 hit Inside Out 2, which has grossed $1.6 billion worldwide.
Lively, who makes a brief appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine, takes center stage in It Ends With Us. The film, based on Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel, features Lively as Lily Bloom, a florist caught in a love triangle between her current partner, played by Justin Baldoni, and her first love, portrayed by Brandon Sklenar. With a modest $25 million production budget, It Ends With Us is poised to generate significant profits for Columbia Pictures and Wayfarer Studios, much like Sony’s Where the Crawdads Sing did last summer. The film has received an A- CinemaScore from audiences and is expected to perform well throughout the quieter August box-office season.
In a humorous nod to their box-office battle, Reynolds recently posted a video of himself playfully interviewing Sklenar, Lively’s co-star. The clip went viral, boosting interest in both films. For Lively, the strategy worked wonders as her film exceeded initial weekend forecasts by a wide margin.
Not all films had a successful weekend, however. The long-delayed video game adaptation Borderlands, directed by Eli Roth, opened to a disappointing $8.8 million despite its star-studded cast, which includes Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black. The film’s poor performance, coupled with a dismal 10% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, has positioned it as one of the year’s biggest flops.
Top 10 Weekend Box Office:
- Deadpool & Wolverine – $54.2 million
- It Ends With Us – $50 million
- Twisters – $15 million
- Borderlands – $8.8 million
- Despicable Me 4 – $8 million
- Trap – $6.7 million
- Inside Out 2 – $5 million
- Harold and the Purple Crayon – $3.1 million
- Cuckoo – $3 million
- Longlegs – $2 million
