'Deadpool 2' Shatters R-Rated Opening Night Record

Deadpool 2 has only been in theaters for one night, but that's all it took for the Ryan Reynolds sequel to begin storming the box office record books.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Deadpool 2 earned a monstrous $18.6 million during Thursday night previews across 3,785 theaters, annihilating the record for an R-rated movie on its opening night.

The original Deadpool achieved the same feat when it was released back in 2016, taking in $12.7 million on its preview night. The record was broken last summer by It, which earned $13.5 million. Last night however, Marvel's loud-mouthed anti-hero stole the record back once again.

As you can imagine, these numbers bode extremely well for Deadpool 2's overall opening weekend total. The first film went on to make $132.4 million in its first weekend, without the strength of a widely-adored predecessor coming before it. After last night's performance, and the mostly positive critical reception, Deadpool 2 is set to make serious waves at the box office this weekend, unseating Avengers: Infinity War for the top spot.

Deadpool 2 will be playing in a total of 4,349 theaters across the country this weekend, and it's tracking for a debut between $130 million and $150 million. Judging by the Thursday night numbers, and the earnings of the first Deadpool, it's likely that the sequel will come in at the higher end of that spectrum. There's also a chance it could surprise even the most optimistic analysts and outperform the projections. We'll have a clearer idea as to exactly how much it will make as the weekend continues.

Aiding the performance of Deadpool 2 this weekend is the fact that no other major movies are opening alongside it. The only other new releases are the Diane Keaton comedy Book Club, and poorly reviewed family film, Show Dogs. The Merc with a Mouth will only stay on top of the box office for one weekend however, as Solo: A Star Wars Story is set to open next Friday.

Did you expect Deadpool 2 to have such a big night on Thursday? What do you think the movie will earn over the course of the weekend? Let us know by dropping a line in the comment section below!

Deadpool 2, directed by David Leitch and starring Ryan Reynolds, is now playing in theaters.