'Deadpool 2' Tracking To Break R-Rated Opening Day Box Office Record

Deadpool 2 is set to have a massive weekend and shatter the record for best R-rated movie's opening day, with Deadline claiming it could take in as much as $52 million. This would topple last year's opening of IT, which took in $50.4 million on its opening day.

The sequel to the 2016 film has already set one record, as its totals from Thursday night make it the highest R-rated preview night with $18.6 million. IT previously held the record with $13.5 million, though, interestingly, the record was previously held by the original Deadpool. With IT: Chapter Two landing in theaters next year, we can't help but wonder if that film will take the record back.

Many audiences expected this new film to be a success, though the original film blew away virtually all expectations, setting a variety of box office records. Heading into its release, the film was projected to earn $60 million, eventually taking in more than double that with a $135 million domestic total that weekend. This set the record for biggest February earner, with the film's totals eventually going on to become the highest-grossing installment in the X-Men franchise and highest-grossing R-rated film.

What makes the success of the franchise even more impressive is the rough start the character had, thanks to a lackluster debut in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Ryan Reynolds portrayed the character in Wolverine's first solo adventure, which took place before the original X-Men films. By the film's climax, the mutated "Deadpool" was far from the character comic fans were familiar with, instead appearing as a character created by combining the abilities of other mutants. One of the more notable deviations from the original character was the removal of his mouth, despite having long held the nickname of the "Merc with a Mouth."

Thanks to Reynolds' growing success over the years and persistence to play the character, the film eventually came to fruition, with a scene using an action figure from the character's disappointing debut in the previous film.

Deadpool is a character owned by Marvel, though the conglomerate sold the live-action rights to the character to 20th Century Fox. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has created some of the most successful films of the last decade, yet even Marvel Studios appeared intimidated by the earning power of Deadpool.

Avengers: Infinity War was originally slated to debut on May 4th, which was announced before the first Deadpool hit theaters. In a surprising move, Marvel Studios moved Avengers' release ahead by a week, giving it an extra weekend at the box office before the release of Deadpool 2, allowing the film to have an extra weekend without serious competition.

Deadpool 2 is in theaters now.

Do you think the sequel will live up to expectations? Let us know in the comments below!

[H/T Deadline]