Weekend Box Office: Deadpool Wins the Ball

Deadpool 2

Proving that dick jokes are still in fashion and no uptight white people can tell you otherwise, Fox/Marvel’s Deadpool 2 burst on the scene with reasonable applause. This weekend nabbed $205.17 million from all parties, +39.4% ahead of the same frame last year ($124.44m) led by Fox’s Alien: Covenant with a $36.16m haul (remember that movie? Neither do I).

In first, as he does, the latest Deadpool movie grossed $125m from 4,349 venues ($28,742 per-theatre average), the widest opening yet for an R-rated flick. That’s a strong outing, especially considering Ryan Reynolds and co. work to make these cheap – the first movie cost a measly $58m to produce, whereas this one cost $110m. A bit more, yeah, but damn frugal for the genre. With that, Deadpool 2 took the second-highest debut for an R-rated movie, just behind its predecessor, which made $132.43m over its 3-day opening and $152.19m over the 4-day Presidents’ Day frame, also boosted by Valentine’s Day that Sunday.

The question then, I suppose, is why did Deadpool 2 open -5.7% behind the first, despite goodwill plus terrific reviews (83% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8.2/10 on IMDb)? There are a few reasons that probably stacked on each other; for starters, the first Deadpool was a novelty item, something genuinely new and a clever subversion that had years and years of speculation and hype. It’s hard to match that a second time and Deadpool 2 promised mostly the same old, but with a bigger scope and the addition of a popular character in Cable. That was a fine approach, though it might not have been enough to get some rushing to multiplexes.

Deadpool 2

Perhaps the bigger detriment here is the release date. Deadpool 2 was previously slotted two weeks from now, until Fox made the left-field decision to plant it two weeks after Disney/Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War‘s initial date and a week prior to Disney/Lucasfilm’s Solo: A Star Wars Story.

It was a strange choice, essentially taking money away from all movies. Infinity War moving a week back was a smart play and gave everything some breathing room, but one can’t help but wonder why studios are still hesitant to take advantage of August, a somewhat barren month that produces fantastic legs when a blockbuster lands – see Disney/Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy ($333.18m) and Warner Bros./DC’s Suicide Squad ($325.1m). It would’ve been a perfect outlet for Deadpool 2, away from the summer’s other heavy-hitters, Disney/Pixar’s Incredibles 2 and Universal’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, but alas.

If Deadpool 2 follows the pattern of its predecessor (2.74x multiple), it’ll close with $342.5m. Given the competition (Infinity War as a holdover, the impending arrival of Solo and the other aforementioned blockbusters), it’s unlikely Deadpool 2 holds as well as the first. That said, somewhere over $300m should be a lock, lest it utterly collapses. Make no mistake, Deadpool 2 isn’t flopping by any measure. It already is and will continue to be a big success.

Internationally, Mr. Wilson grabbed $176.33m from 81 markets, the best opening total ever for Fox International and +7% over the first Deadpool ($420.04m int’l total) when accounting for today’s exchange rates. It’s also the highest overseas debut for an R-rated movie, overtaking last year’s fellow Fox flick Logan ($160m and the benefit of a $49.7m opening from China). Top markets for Deadpool 2 are the U.K. ($18m), South Korea ($17m), Russia ($11.8m), Australia ($11.7m), and Mexico ($10.1m).

Falling to second (the humanity), Disney/Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War wasn’t too harmed by Deadpool’s arrival, dipping a fine -53.8% to add $28.67m to its coffers. Domestic total for Earth’s Mightest Heroes is $595.03m thus far and they’ll topple the $600m milestone very shortly. Infinity War is playing +13.8% ahead of the first Avengers film at the same point in release, suggesting a closing tally around $710m, a possible total if it can stabilize and gain a nice Memorial Day boost. Don’t be surprised if Infinity War falls just short of $700m, but still, tremendous numbers across the board.

Overseas, Infinity War grossed $84.4m from 100% of its international footprint for a $1.218 billion cume, third-highest ever. Global is $1.813 billion, good for #4 on the all-time chart, with $2 billion and eclipsing Disney/Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($2.068 billion) still in question. Top markets for Infinity War are China ($302.4m, fourth-highest grossing Hollywood release ever), South Korea ($89m), the U.K. ($87.8m), Brazil ($60.8m, #1 movie ever), and Mexico ($57.7m, will overtake Disney/Pixar’s Coco ($57.9m) in a day or so).

Debuting in third, Paramount’s Book Club was merely fine with $12.5m from 2,781 hubs ($4,495 per-theatre average). The budget was reportedly just $10m and movies appealing to older demographics tend to have strong legs, so Paramount ought to be satisfied. If Book Club plays akin to last year’s Going in Style ($11.93m debut, 3.77x multiple), it’s eyeing $47m, with a chance to cross the $50m mark. Book Club is textbook counter-programming and it’ll play pretty well with the blockbusters.

There are no international numbers to report for Book Club.

lifeoftheparty

In fourth, Warner Bros.’ Melissa McCarthy romp Life of the Party fell -56.8%, grossing $7.73m in its sophomore frame. Domestic cume is $31.04m, running -6% behind last year’s Amy Schumer-Goldie Hawn comedy Snatched at the same point in release. Unless Life of the Party can stabilize and bring out those typically decent McCarthy runs, it’ll struggle to make much more than $45m, easily the lowest gross yet for a comedy with McCarthy as the lead.

Internationally, Life of the Party added $1.3m from 9 markets for a $5.8m cume. Global haul is $36.84m.

Rounding out the top five, Universal’s Gabrielle Union thriller Breaking In had a rather hefty fall, declining -63.3% to add $6.47m in its second weekend. Granted, that gross is more than the movie’s $6m budget alone, but it might have trouble hitting the $40m mark lest it gains some energy. Domestic cume for the movie is $28.75m.

Overseas, Breaking In grossed $300k from 6 markets for a $1.7m overseas and $30.45m global cume.

Outside the top five, Global Road’s Show Dogs didn’t make a spectacular open, making $6.03m from 3,212 venues ($1,879 per-theatre average). That figure ranks #13 for worst openings in over 3,000 theatres, with the only plus here being it’ll surpass Global Road’s Midnight Sun ($9.56m) to become the new distributor’s highest-grossing title (granted, this is their second, but whatever). Show Dogs made $693k from 2 overseas markets, Italy making the vast majority with $692.9k (the other $3k comes from Switzerland) for a $6.73m tally.

 

HOLDOVERS

7. Overboard (Lionsgate/Pantelion) – $4.73 million (-52.1%), $36.97m cume
8. A Quiet Place (Paramount) – $4.04 million (-37.4%), $176.18m cume
9. Rampage (Warner Bros.) – $1.5 million (-56.7%), $92.42m cume
10. RBG (Magnolia) – $1.28 million (+7.7%), $3.88m cume

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