It’s been a big weekend for the Marvel Cinematic Universe — a $200+ million one for that matter. Deadpool & Wolverine soars to No. 1 at the worldwide box office. And if Ryan Reynolds’ Merc with a Mouth is Marvel Jesus, then fans just met Marvel God when Robert Downey Jr. took the stage at San Diego Comic-Con to announce his return as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday (2026). But for now, the spotlight rightly belongs to director Shawn Levy’s film, which made an estimated $205 million domestically over its opening weekend.

Not only does Deadpool & Wolverine boast the best opening weekend of 2024 at the box office, but Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s highly anticipated team-up comes in at No. 8 all time, in terms of its preview numbers, which the film posted on Thursday, July 25. The superhero flick made $38.5 million (per The Numbers) during those early screenings, which catapulted Deadpool & Wolverine toward its gigantic global take.

Internationally, the film made an additional $233.3 million and that brings the movie’s worldwide total to a jaw-dropping $438.3 million. And that means the Mouse House is flirting with a half-a-billion-dollar opening weekend thanks to their unique brand of ketchup and mustard.

Deadpool & Wolverine 3.5/5 A follow-up to the highly successful Deadpool and Deadpool 2 films starring Ryan Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth. The third film will be the first in the franchise to be developed under the Marvel Studios banner following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox.Release Date July 26, 2024 Studio Marvel Studios, 20th Century Studios, 21 Laps Entertainment Franchise Marvel Expand

Additionally, Deadpool & Wolverine officially represents the best opening weekend of any R-rated film. The honor did belong to the original Deadpool, which made $132.4 million over its premiere back in 2016 (per Box Office Mojo). In fact, the Top 5 R-rated films’ list of all time, in terms of opening-weekend numbers, now finds itself populated by all three Deadpool installments, another popular comic book movie and one of Stephen King’s best film adaptations. Check out the titles and their respective rankings below.

Highest-Grossing R-Rated Movies of All Time:
Deadpool & Wolverine: $205 million Deadpool: $132.4 million Deadpool 2: $125.5 million It: $123.4 million Joker: $96.2 million

Deadpool & Wolverine Bests Barbie, Ranks Among MCU’s Best

Deadpool & Wolverine’s opening-weekend numbers helped the MCU surpass the $30-billion mark at the box office, making it the most lucrative big-screen franchise of all time. And while director Shawn Levy’s cinematic collaboration with Reynolds and Jackman might not rank No. 1 among the other Marvel Cinematic Universe entries’ premieres, it still ranks quite high even with such lofty company. Check out the financials and rankings for the best MCU opening weekends domestically below (per Box Office Mojo).

The Best MCU Opening Weekends Domestically:
Avengers: Endgame ($357.1 million) Spider-Man: No Way Home ($260.1 million) Avengers: Infinity War ($257.7 million) The Avengers ($207.4 million) Deadpool & Wolverine ($205 million) Black Panther ($202 million)

Deadpool & Wolverine also supplants a fellow Disney film, The Lion King (2019), which previously held the top spot for the best opening weekend in the month of July ever. Again, courtesy of Box Office Mojo, check out the financials and rankings for the best July debuts domestically below.

The Best Opening Weekends in July:
Deadpool & Wolverine ($205 million) The Lion King ($191.8 million) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 ($169.2 million) Barbie ($162 million) The Dark Knight Rises ($160.9 million)

2:34 Related Summer’s Biggest Blockbuster Registers Unexpected Reviews & Rotten Tomatoes Score Deadpool & Wolverine fans might be surprised or even bitter by the film’s unexpected Rotten Tomatoes score.

Last week’s No. 1 Twisters drops 57% between its first and second weekends, but the Glen Powell-led disaster flick still made a respectable $35.3 million, which is good enough to land the No. 2 spot this weekend. Despicable Me 4 checks in at No. 3 with $14.2 million, while No. 4 goes to Inside Out 2 ($8.3 million). And Nicolas Cage’s horror masterpiece Longlegs ($6.8 million) continues to scare up business and rounds out the Top 5.

Bleecker Street’s The Fabulous Four cracks the Top 10, during its first weekend of release, at No. 8 with $1 million, while the only other newcomer, director Sean Wang’s Didi, boasts a per-theater average of $40,000 in limited release (5 cinemas). However, this week’s best per-theater average goes to Deadpool & Wolverine ($48,694).

The Josh Hartnett-led
Trap,
plus Zachary Levi’s
Harold and the Purple Crayon
join the 2024 summer movie season next on August 2.