On the anniversary of Margot Robbie’s record-breaking Barbie, another film is set to conquer the box office with insane projections by industry experts. Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool & Wolverine will see both him return as Deadpool after six years and Hugh Jackman return as Wolverine after retirement.
The film is reportedly projected to earn a smashing opening of $360 million worldwide. This is the first MCU film to release since the box office disaster The Marvels, which had a terrible $206 million collection in its lifetime. The most-anticipated movie of the year might just wake Marvel up from its slump.
Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool 3 Threatens Margot Robbie’s Record Opening With Barbie
Ryan Reynolds’ upcoming MCU debut Deadpool & Wolverine combines two worlds that fans have been clamoring for over a decade. The film sees the return of Hugh Jackman as Logan a.k.a Wolverine after he retired from the role in 2017’s Logan. It also sees the first appearance of the X-Men in the MCU.
The movie will be the sole theatrical release of the year from Marvel after it faced multiple failures such as The Marvels and Secret Invasion. The former, which was the sequel to Brie Larson’s billion-dollar film Captain Marvel, was a disaster at the box office despite being a team-up of three superheroes.
Recent projections of the Ryan Reynolds starrer predict that the film would have a terrific opening of up to $360 million worldwide and around $170 million domestically (via Deadline). This figure threatens last year’s highest-grossing film Barbie starring Margot Robbie, which had a domestic opening of $155 million and an international box office of $337 million (via Collider).
Deadpool & Wolverine could also break many records for an R-rated film as the domestic opening of a film upwards of $170 million has only been achieved by PG-13 films (via Deadline). The film will be the first R-rated release from Marvel and Disney but that does not seem to hamper its box office run.
Fans Troll Brie Larson’s The Marvels After Deadpool 3’s Box Office Projections
The box office projections of Deadpool & Wolverine may bring some solace to Marvel fans as the franchise has been in a slump for the past two years. Since the release of Avengers: Endgame, the MCU has only fared well with certain films such as Spider-Man: No Way Home, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol.3, and Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.
The biggest flop for the franchise was last year’s Brie Larson starrer The Marvels. A sequel to Captain Marvel, which earned over $1.13 billion at the box office, The Marvels saw Larson’s Carol Danvers team up with Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau. However, the film only earned $206 million, making it a bomb (via Box Office Mojo).
The film was also criticized extensively for its lack of quality and overexposure to Marvel content on Disney+. The recent projections of Deadpool & Wolverine have led fans to troll The Marvels and its box office collections.
While the opening weekend for Deadpool & Wolverine will say whether the film would actually meet these expectations, the film will certainly lead to Marvel getting a boost again.
Deadpool & Wolverine opens in cinemas on July 26.