NEW YORK — After 10 days in theaters, “Dead Pool & Wolverine” is already the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, without taking inflation into account.
In its second weekend, the Marvel Studios blockbuster starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman continued to roll into theaters, grossing $97 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday. That brought the two-week total to $395.6 million, surpassing the highest-rated feature film, “The Passion of the Christ,” which held that mark for 20 years with $370 million domestically.
Around the world, the “Deadpool”, directed by Shawn Levy & Wolverine” quickly racked up $824.1 million in ticket sales, a total that already surpasses the global sales of the first two “Deadpool” films. The 2016 original grossed $782.6 million worldwide; the 2018 sequel grossed $734.5 million.
The weekend’s main opponents struggled.
M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller, “Trap,” scored a modest opening of $15.6 million in 3,181 theaters for Warner Bros. The film, starring Josh Hartnett as a serial killer hunted by police at a pop concert, was not screened to critics before opening day and scored lower in reviews (a recent 48% on Rotten Tomatoes) than the films in Shyamalan usually do. The public gave it a C+ CinemaScore.
With a budget of around $35 million that Shyamalan largely financed, “Trap” didn’t need a big opening. But it may be difficult to draw.
“This is a smooth opening to a suspenseful crime thriller from M. Night Shyamalan,” wrote David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter for Franchise Entertainment. “The writer/director’s films outperform other original thrillers by a wide margin, and that’s true here, but this start isn’t on the level of Shyamalan’s recent films.”
The live action “Harold and the Purple Pencil,” Adapted from the classic children’s book, it was also not a huge success in theaters. The Sony Pictures release debuted with $6 million. It was also panned by critics (28% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), although audiences (an A-CinemaScore) liked it more. “Harold and the Purple Crayon,” starring Zachary Levi, cost about $40 million to produce.
“Twisted”, Universal Pictures’ disaster film continues to cause a storm at the box office. It came in second place with US$22.7 million in its third weekend. Lee Isaac Chung’s sequel to the 1996 original, starring Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Anthony Ramos, grossed $195.6 million domestically. Although it made less of an impression overseas, “Twisters” is doing particularly well in North American theaters, dropping just 35% from the previous week.
Hollywood ended July with its best month in a year and its first $1 billion month since July 2023. While comparisons to last year are not favorable – July was when “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” launched – two Walt Disney Co. releases in “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine” (the two best films of the year) led to a remarkable month for the film industry.
There will still be reminders of difficult times in cinemas in early spring and early summer, when a sparse release schedule and some notable flops put the box office in deficit. On Friday, AMC Theatres, the largest North American chain, reported a loss of $32.8 million in the second quarter of 2024.
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”, US$97 million.
2. “Twisters”, US$22.7 million.
3. “Trap”, US$15.6 million.
4. “Despicable Me 2,” $11.3 million.
5. “Inside Out 2”, $6.7 million.
6. “Harold and the Purple Pencil”, $6 million.
7. “Long Legs,” $4.1 million.
8. “A Quiet Place: Day One,” $1.4 million.
9. “Daaru Na Peenda Hove”, $615,782.
10. “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” $600,000.
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