Deadpool & Wolverine has made history with the biggest box office opening for an R-rated movie. The Marvel superhero film earned a massive domestic haul of $205 million its first weekend of release, with a total domestic box office sum of $438.3 million.
With that, Deadpool & Wolverine has broken the previous record for an R-rated debut (held by the first Deadpool movie’s $133.7 million opening). It also marks the eighth biggest opening of all time among any film.
Plotwise, Deadpool & Wolverine follows Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson as he explores the multiverse in search of a Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) who can help save his timeline, with plenty of in-jokes, references, and fun cameos along the way. As Consequence’s Liz Shannon Miller wrote in her review, the film is “a lot of fun when it’s really cooking… From beginning to end, this is a popcorn movie of the highest order.”
The feat comes as affirmation for Disney’s gamble with the film, which marks the studio’s first-ever R-rated superhero movie and no doubt provides a major shot in the arm for Marvel following a mostly sluggish era since Avengers: Endgame.
Disney and Marvel now hope to build off the momentum as they enter Phase Six of the MCU, which they previewed on Saturday at San Diego Comi-Con. Among the announcements was Robert Downey Jr.’s return to the MCU — as Dr. Doom in Avengers: Doomsday.