NEW YORK — In the box office confrontation between Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, husband and wife emerged victorious.
Reynolds’ success at Marvel Studios “Dead Pool & Wolverine” remained the best-selling film in North American theaters for the third consecutive week, with $54.2 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. Worldwide, it has already exceeded US$1 billion. “Dead Pool & Wolverine”, however, was closely followed by “It ends with us”, the romantic drama starring Lively, which exceeded expectations with a stellar $50 million debut.
Together, the films created a kind of family edition of “Barbenheimer”, in which two very different films thrived in part due to counterprogramming. Only this time the opposite films were starred by one of Hollywood’s most famous couples. The films’ one-two punch wasn’t entirely unprecedented. In 1990, Bruce Willis’ “Die Hard 2” topped the box office, while Demi Moore’s “Ghost” came in second.
The weekend also featured a high-priced flop. “Borderlands”, the long-delayed $120 million video game adaptation directed by Eli Roth launched with a paltry $8.8 million for Lionsgate. The film, starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart and Jack Black, was shot in 2021. After delays and reshoots, it finally arrived in theaters effectively dead on arrival; it scored just 10% on Rotten Tomatoes and seems likely to be in the running for one of the worst films of the year.
Meanwhile, “Deadpool & Wolverine,” co-starring Hugh Jackman, continued its march through box office records. The film, directed by Shawn Levy, is only the second R-rated film to reach $1 billion, after “Joker” from 2019. In three weeks, it is already one of Marvel’s most profitable releases and is second only to Disney’s other success in 2024, “Inside Out” ($1.6 billion worldwide) among the films released this year.
Lively makes a special appearance in “Deadpool” & Wolverine,” but she stars in and produces “It Ends With Us.” Adapted from Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel, Lively stars as Lily Bloom, a Boston florist torn between two men, one from her current life (Justin Baldoni, who also directed the film) and one who was her first love (Brandon Sklenar ). .
“It Ends With Us” cost a modest $25 million to produce, so it will generate a significant profit for co-financiers Columbia Pictures and Wayfarer Studios. As another female-led adaptation of Sony’s summer release book “Where the Crawdads Sing,” “It Ends With Us” could hold up well during August’s typically slower box office period. Audiences gave it an A-CinemaScore.
Reynolds and Lively occasionally emphasized the convergence of their films. Earlier this week, Reynolds posted a video of himself asking Sklenar questions. The moment was especially worthwhile for Lively, whose film doubled previous predictions for its opening weekend.
Neon “Cuckoo,” a horror film set in the German Alps from filmmaker Tilman Singer that debuted with $3 million on 1,503 screens. It stars Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final national numbers will be released on Monday.
1. “Dead pool & Wolverine,” $54.2 million.
2. “It Ends With Us”, US$50 million.
3. “Twisters,” $15 million.
4. “Borderlands,” $8.8 million.
5. “Despicable Me 4,” $8 million.
6. “Trap,” $6.7 million.
7. “Inside Out 2,” $5 million.
8. “Harold and the Purple Pencil,” $3.1 million.
9. “Cuckoo”, US$3 million.
10. “Long Legs,” $2 million.
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