Deadpool & Wolverine Already Sets Box Office Record
Deadpool & Wolverine is shaping up to be one of the biggest blockbuster hits of the year. AMC Theaters CEO Adam Aron recently took to social media to share that theatergoers have already purchased 200,000 tickets for the upcoming MCU film. That would have it smashing the record for the most Day 1 ticket sales at AMC for any R-rated movie ever. Fandango also confirmed that the first-day sales for the movie were the best for 2024 so far and the best for an R-rated feature.
Deadpool & Wolverine First Day Sales
While there aren’t official dollar figures from these reports, the Hollywood Reporter estimated that the first-day sales for Deadpool & Wolverine already have around $8 million to $9 million based on the provided numbers.
The Hollywood Reporter also estimated that the film could cross $100 million in its opening weekend, which has yet to happen for any movie in 2024 so far.
This could be the boon theater companies are looking for after falling 20% behind 2023 numbers, partly due to production delays from the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes last summer.
New Box Office Records
Deadpool & Wolverine tickets went on sale Monday and there’s plenty of time for the film to ramp its numbers up ahead of its July 26 North American release date.
These new box office records for the film are hardly surprising, though, considering both of the previous Deadpool films hold the first and second-place records for the biggest R-rated opening weekends of all time.
The first film had the biggest opening weekend with $132.4 million and the second came in at $125 million.
First Time For Both In The MCU
It remains to be seen if Deadpool & Wolverine can surpass its predecessors, but it does have a lot going for it that could help it launch past that record.
For one, it’s the first film in which Deadpool is part of the MCU after Disney acquired 20th Century Fox. Also, it’s the first R-rated film in the MCU.
Hugh Jackman Returning After Logan
Of course, those facts are burying the lede a bit, as it’s also the first film in the MCU that features Wolverine. Not only that, but it’s Hugh Jackman returning as Wolverine after everyone thought he was calling it quits after his Logan swan song in 2017.
Add the fact that the initial trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine looks great AND that Jackman is finally donning the comic-accurate yellow and blue Wolverine suit and you have a recipe for a box office smash.
Only Marvel Movie This Year
Deadpool & Wolverine is the only MCU movie releasing this year, which makes it a massive event in and of itself. Marvel changed up its strategy after setbacks like disappointing box office take, negative critical reaction to some of its TV shows, and the firing of Jonathan Majors as the big bad Kang the Conqueror.
Deadpool & Wolverine should be a good indicator if this course correction for the long-running cinematic franchise is going to work.
A Very Promising Start
In any case, these first-day numbers are certainly a promising start for Deadpool & Wolverine, at least from a financial standpoint.
We’ll have to wait and see if it can live up to the massive amounts of hype it’s generating. You can catch the film when it hits theaters on July 26.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
