Marvel Comics’ anti-superhero movie, Deadpool, completely dominated the weekend box office and there’s not a single movie industry executive that can say they saw it coming. Even executives at 20th Century Fox who produced, marketed and disturbed the movie were caught off guard.
“An R-rated superhero film like this had never been done before. And when it’s never been done before, it’s hard to comp and predict. You’re doing something that’s never been done. It’s like you throw the rulebook out the window,” said Fox domestic distribution chief Chris Aronson.
Not only did Deadpool dominate the weekend box office, but with a whopping $135 million opening weekend, the Ryan Reynolds-led action adventure also broke a couple box-office records in the process (Biggest open for a February movie, Highest R-rated debut of all time).
“That R rating gave everyone pause for concern,” says a rival film executive, “Then throw in Valentine’s Day on Sunday and a holiday Monday and it is really hard to predict. We all knew it would be great, but calling a performance this strong is just not possible.”
Needless to say, with its massive opening, Deadpool made easy work of its box-office opponents including reigning champ, Kung Fu Panda 3, whose $19.65 million earned was good enough to land it in second place thanks to relatively disappointing showings from the top 10’s other two debuts, the Dakota Johnson and Rebel Wilson-led rom-com, How to Be Single, and Ben Stiller’s highly anticipated Zoolander 2. HTBS and Zoolander 2 bowed at $18.17 million and $15.65 million, respectively. Rounding out the top five for the week was Leonardo DiCaprio’s Oscar-nominated western adventure, The Revenant, which brought in an additional $6.9 million.
For the full weekend top 10, check out the list below:
1. Deadpool – $135M
2. Kung Fu Panda 3 – $19.65
3. How To Be Single – $18.75M
4. Zoolander 2 – $15.65M
5. The Revenant – $6.9M
6. Hail, Caesar! – $6.5M
7. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – $6.1M
8. The Choice – $5.2M
9. Ride Along 2 – $4.1M
10. The Boy – $2.9M
