DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE ALREADY BREAKS ONE R-RATED MOVIE RECORD

Deadpool & Wolverine claws into the box office with a major record at the start of its theatrical run. The Marvel Cinematic Universe movie sets a new mark for Thursday previews among R-rated films as it braces for a huge opening weekend.

Per Deadline, Deadpool & Wolverine earned $35 million in Thursday previews on Jul. 25, with the figure potentially topping $40 million on its release day. Not only is that mark the highest ever for an R-rated film, it's one of the nine biggest preview returns in movie history. Deadpool & Wolverine shattered the previous record by Deadpool 2, which hauled in $18.6 million in 2018.

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Deadpool & Wolverine: How the Duo's Comic Connections Could Influence the Film

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The preview numbers are unsurprising considering the film broke presales ticket records long before its premiere and was voted the most anticipated movie of 2024 in a Fandango poll. Deadpool & Wolverine is on pace for a gigantic opening weekend return, projecting to make between $340 million and $360 million worldwide during its first three days in cinemas, with up to $165 million domestically during the same period. The first Deadpool film holds the domestic record among R-rated films, bringing in $132.4 million during its first weekend in 2016.

Deadpool & Wolverine Breathes New Life Into the MCU

Deadpool & Wolverine looks set to pump fresh life into the MCU following recent disappointments on the big and small screens, including Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Secret Invasion and The Marvels. Ryan Reynolds' "Merc With a Mouth" has been hailed as "Marvel Jesus" during the promotion of Deadpool & Wolverine, with the film seeing him and Hugh Jackman's Logan tasked with a major mission set to transform the Multiverse. Deadpool & Wolverine also introduces several X-Men characters as the MCU enters its so-called "mutant era" ahead of a planned X-Men film reboot.

Logan's Dafne Keen and Hugh Jackman Reunite at Deadpool & Wolverine Premiere

New footage reveals Dafne Keen and Hugh Jackman back together again on the red carpet for Deadpool & Wolverine.

Marvel has Jackman to thank for Deadpool & Wolverine getting off the ground as the newly-released tentpole nearly got shelved before the Oscar-nominated actor confirmed he would return as Wolverine, having last played the claw-wielding badass in 2017's Logan. Jackman's inclusion transformed Deadpool & Wolverine's trajectory and critics seem pleased with the results, with the film boasting a 79% critical rating and 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing.

Reynolds and Jackman headline Deadpool & Wolverine alongside Emma Corrin (Cassandra Nova), Dafne Keen (X-23), Matthew Macfadyen (Mr. Paradox), Tyler Mane (Sabretooth), Jennifer Garner (Elektra) and Stefan KapiÄiÄ (Colossus). The film, which also features a flurry of celebrity cameos, is the first R-rated movie in MCU history and the lone big-screen entry from the cinematic universe this year as Disney scales back Marvel's yearly output.