Deadpoolis a hit! Audiences and critics alike are loving its brash, bold attitude, which has definitely redefined what asuperhero moviecan be. And it arrives as anR rated affair, which makes it even a more surprising winner at the box office. In lieu of it’s big three day holiday weekend, the movie opened for Thursday Night Previews, breaking a couple of records in the process.
Deadpool has set the R Rated Thursday night preview record, taking in a late evening gross of $12.7 million at 2,975 theaters last night. This obliterates the previous record set by the 2011 comedy sequelThe Hangover Part II, which pulled in $10.4 million from Midnight showings. Deadpool actually had the upper hand in conquering this record, as it played for multiple showings at 7 and 9 pm.
Deadpool also took the best February Thursday night preview record, set by last year’sFifty Shades of Grey. That long awaited adaptation of the best-selling novel opened in the same Holiday weekend time frame, taking in $8.6 million. Deadpool is also going strong overseas. Opening in 7 markets, it pulled in another $12M. That puts its global haul at $25M.
Right now, it is estimated that Deadpool will rake in a cool $60 million to $65 million playing at 3,557 over the weekend, including the grosses from Thursday night preview screenings. Non-Fox distribution executives are positioning the movie to open much higher than that. Some speculate that it could earn anywhere from $70 million to $80 million. In 2007, the R Ratedcomic bookinspired300earned $70.9 million on its opening weekend. And in 2009, theR Rated comic bookadaptationWatchmenmade $55.2 million over its opening weekend.
Advanced box office tallies for Paramount and Warner Bros.' two big Valentine’s Day holiday offeringZoolander 2andHow to Be Singleshould arrive soon. Of the $12.7 million gross, Deadpool pulled in $2.3 million from IMAX on Thursday. That equals out to $6,200 per IMAX screen, the best ever for an IMAX February release and for an R Rated movie. It is the sixth biggest Thursday IMAX preview screening of all time, pulling ahead of 2015’sFurious 7and 2013’sIron Man 3.
According to Fandango, Deadpool has been the top ticket seller over the past two weeks. And it has outsold Marvel’sAnt-Manat this same point in the sales cycle. Deadpool is being heavily marketed on both TV and social media with a number of edgy promos and events. And some billboards and TV ads have been selling it as a romantic comedy, to help push it through Valentine’s day weekend. Is Deadpool part of your holiday weekend plans?
