‘Deadpool' shocker: $135M
The R-rated “Deadpool” has taken the box office by storm, annihilating records with an eye-popping $135 million from its first three days in theaters, according to comScore estimates Sunday.
The Fox film, which stars Ryan Reynolds as the foul-mouthed superhero, easily trounced last year's record-setting $85.2 million February debut of the erotic drama “Fifty Shades of Grey.”
It also became the biggest R-rated opening ever, surpassing “The Matrix Reloaded,” which opened to $91.8 million in May 2003.
Analysts are predicting that the Tim Miller-directed film, which cost $58 million to produce, could go on to make $150 million by the end of the holiday weekend. As recently as Thursday, “Deadpool” was expected to pull in only $80 million across the three days, but the Marvel comic, often a best-seller, proved its popular appeal and then some — and it didn't have to compromise with a PG-13 rating either.
“This movie is the very definition of an expectation-buster. Nobody saw this coming,” said Paul Dergarabedian, comScore's senior media analyst.
The debut is also a bit of a superhero redemption story for Reynolds, whose costly “Green Lantern” adaptation disappointed audiences at the box office in 2011.