Deadpool 2 pulled in another $42 million this weekend at the North American box-office, taking its domestic total to $207 million. The movie is doing great internationally as well, having accumulated close to $280 million for a worldwide total approaching $487 million. The sequel starring Ryan Reynolds as the titular Merc with a Mouth has been receiving rave reviews, better than the first one in some cases, with an 83% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and an average grade of A from CinemaScore. That’s impressive given how hard the first one was to crack, let alone to top.
Last week, Deadpool 2 pulled in record opening weekend numbers, earning $125 million from its opening weekend at the States and a total of $300 million worldwide, giving studio 20th Century Fox its second largest opening weekend of all time. It’s domestic total was a bit short of the $132 million scored by the first Deadpool back in 2016, which is understandable given that movie’s tumultuous production history and the consequently long buildup towards its release. Besides, it released over President’s Day weekend without any strong competition compared to the sequel which is sandwiched between the massive Avengers: Infinity War and a movie in an intensely followed franchise Solo: A Star Wars Story, the divided reviews it is receiving notwithstanding. And lest you forget, the movie is rated R, yet performing nearly as well as any other blockbuster.
This reception should definitely quell rumors that had cropped up about the movie undergoing extensive reshoots due to being received poorly in test screenings. In reality, the reshoots were done only to add more of Cable and Domino, characters that were received overwhelmingly well by the test audience. That doesn’t mean Deadpool 2 was without its troubles though. Deadpool director Tim Miller departed production due to creative differences with star Ryan Reynolds over the movie’s direction and budget, leading John Wick alum David Leitch to step in (in a strange irony, the movie wound up with a $110 million budget anyway). A stunt-woman had also died back in August 2017 during the movie’s shooting while performing a helmetless motorcycle stunt doubling for Domino. These hiccups aside, Fox would undoubtedly want to make a Deadpool 3 and move ahead with its plans of building X-Force on the back of Deadpool’s success, it remains to be seen how Disney’s acquisition of Fox affects the studio’s plans going forward.
Deadpool 2 is running in theaters now.
