Some industry analysts thought that after the all you can eat superhero smorgasbord of Avengers: Infinity War, audiences would be a bit tired of the genre. It seems that our appetite for comic book action is insatiable, though, as has been proven by Deadpool 2 smashing box office records for an R-rated movie left, right and centre.
The latest scalp the sequel’s claimed is the record for the biggest overseas opening weekend for an R-rated film, raking in $176.3 million from foreign territories (and it hasn’t even opened in China yet). All that’s on top of its gargantuan domestic success, having currently racked up $125 million. That brings its global haul to just over $300 million, which is hugely impressive – even if it falls short of the original.
As we said, though, that $176.3 million take from overseas makes it the highest R-rated opening internationally. Previously, Logan held the record with $160 million, but the Merc with a Mouth made sure things didn’t stay that way for long and has now clinched the crown.
Leaving that particular record aside for a second, Deadpool 2 is already troubling a few other records as well. It’s beaten Rush Hour 2 as the biggest ever opening weekend for a comedy sequel, it’s gotten the second biggest global debut ever for a film that isn’t rated PG-13, it’s the second biggest Fox opening weekend ever and the second biggest debut for a Marvel Comics adaptation that isn’t part of the MCU (behind Spider-Man 3).
Okay, that’s enough records for now. All this shows that Fox’s X-Universe, which many had assumed was on the outs after the underwhelming X-Men: Apocalypse and the impending Disney buyout, is in rude health. No doubt the company’s going to rush X-Force, the follow-up to Deadpool 2, into production as quickly as humanly possible now.
Meanwhile, congratulations to Ryan Reynolds and the creative team, who’ve managed to catch lightning in a bottle for the second time. They deserve all the praise they get.