Deadpool & Wolverine Carves Out Record-Setting Box Office Opening Day

Deadpool & Wolverine slashes its way to $96 million on Friday.

By Aaron Perine

Deadpool & Wolverine is on track for the biggest opening of an R-rated movie ever. The MCU's big summer extravaganza stunned on Thursday by bringing in $38 million. And, now we know that Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman arrived to the party with $ 96 million through Friday. Projections now slot Deadpool & Wolverine at between $190 and $205 million. As San Diego Comic-Con turns its sights to Marvel Studios later tonight, expect the word of mouth about this movie to basically explode even further. Shawn Levy has to be feeling good about this kind of success so quickly. New estimates think that Deadpool & Wolverine could end up hitting $400 million worldwide as the opening weekend concludes. That is just a staggering number for a genre that the press has spent the larger part of 4 years burying. 

One big thing working in Deadpool & Wolverine's favor is the fact that audiences seem to be loving it. On social media, a lot is made about critics' Rotten Tomatoes scores and even Metacritic numbers. (Both of which can be gamed with enough effort. This works in all kinds of ways.) CinemaScore for Deadpool & Wolverine sits at an A. That's hard for any modern blockbuster to obtain in our current moment. While that fan sentiment doesn't carry every single movie, it is providing a massive boost for the MCU's only summer feature. Some credit is also necessary for the summer blockbuster season that proceeded this film.

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Deadpool & Wolverine jumping into the box office fray.

- Marvel)

It seems like Bad Boys: Ride or Die came along, followed by Inside Out 2, and the floodgates kind of opened for a lot of the big tentpole projects this year. Twisters is still churning away and the landscape has a little bit of something for everyone. Another case of media-driven handwringing about the summer box office seems to be overblown.  

Deadpool & Wolverine Provides An Electrifying Good Time At The Movies

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This pair delivers in a big way.

- Marvel Entertainment)

Deadpool & Wolverine comes along in an interesting time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the movie wants you to know it. For ComicBook's critic, Jenna Anderson, Ryan Reynolds Hugh Jackman's big MCU introduction could've come at a better time. In her review, she praised the heartfelt nature of the film and the delightful action sequences. But, despite adamantium claws and sharp humor, the core of this movie is the love the two friends feel for each other and the adoration for these characters from audiences.

"Instead, Deadpool & Wolverine keeps a thematic core that tackles insecurity, failure, and loneliness at virtually every turn," Anderson mused. "While it takes a few beats for the surprisingly small-scale story to kick into high gear, those emotions certainly fuel our two protagonists, who are charting their own courses toward a future that will hopefully be a little bit kinder to them." 

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"But those emotions also seem to fuel the entire existence of Deadpool & Wolverine, as the movie argues that the ambition of breaking impossible box-office records and expanding a cinematic universe shouldn't get in the way of telling a story that viewers actually care about," she added. "Even in a movie that will surely break box-office records, and in a cinematic universe that still continues to grow, it's a sense of honesty that is refreshing."

Are you seeing Deadpool & Wolverine this weekend? Catch all of our pop culture discussion at @ComicBook on social media!

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