“Deadpool & Wolverine” is primed to tear into the box office.
The Disney and Marvel sequel, which unites Ryan Reynolds‘ Merc with a Mouth with Hugh Jackman’s grumpy mutant, is on track to open to between $160 million to $165 million in the U.S. when it releases in three weeks.
Of course, those numbers come with some caveats (and plenty of upside). It’s worth noting that this tracking is hitting before the bulk of the studio’s marketing materials inundate moviegoers, so interest in the film could keep building. It’s also hard to accurately project ticket sales this far in advance of a film’s debut, but these initial figures show how intensely fanboys and fangirls are anticipating this buddy act.
If the film does open to this level, it will mark the best launch of 2024 as well as the best-ever bow for an R-rated film. It also comes after Marvel, once the most reliable brand in movies, has suffered a series of commercial disappointments such as “The Eternals,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “The Marvels.” If “Deadpool & Wolverine” can fill theaters, it should assuage doubts about the viability of the MCU, as well as the superhero genre. Plus, it stands to be a career-defining moment for Reynolds, who has been the creative force behind the character. The first Deadpool film opened at $132.4 million domestically in 2016 and its 2018 sequel debuted to $125.5 million.
“Deadpool and Wolverine” was co-written, produced and directed by Shawn Levy. It’s the first time a Deadpool and Wolverine film has been released as part of the MCU. Those Marvel characters were licensed to 20th Century Fox, but following the entertainment company’s 2019 sale to Disney they are being integrated into the comic book giant’s official film series.