In an unexpected turn of events, Deadpool & Wolverine has surged back to the top of the box office in its fifth weekend, surpassing Alien: Romulus and holding off three new releases: Blink Twice, The Forge, and The Crow.
The superhero buddy film pulled in $18.3 million, contributing to a total weekend box office of $91 million—a figure that matches last year’s performance led by Gran Turismo with its $22.1 million opening. Remarkably, this marks the fifth consecutive weekend where an R-rated film has dominated the box office, a trend expected to continue into the Labor Day weekend.
With a domestic gross of $577.2 million and a worldwide total of $1.19 billion, Deadpool & Wolverine has set a new benchmark for R-rated films. The movie now ranks as the 16th highest-grossing film domestically, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s $574.4 million from earlier in 2023. Next in line for the film to overtake is Incredibles 2, which earned $609 million in 2018.
Meanwhile, Alien: Romulus fell to second place, earning $16.2 million—a 61% drop from its opening weekend. Despite the decline, the sci-fi thriller has amassed $72.6 million domestically and $153.8 million globally in just 10 days.
The film is on track to become the second-highest-grossing installment in the Alien franchise, following Prometheus’s $403.4 million in 2012. Given its economical $80 million production budget, Alien: Romulus is expected to turn a profit even before accounting for streaming and other revenue streams.
REELated:
It Ends With Us claimed the third spot with $11.9 million, bringing its 17-day domestic total to $120.8 million and its worldwide haul to $225.4 million. The romantic drama has outpaced Where the Crawdads Sing, a 2022 film with a comparable theme, which finished its entire run with $144.4 million globally. Talks of a sequel are already underway, with director and lead actor Justin Baldoni suggesting that Blake Lively take the reins if the project moves forward.
In fourth place, Blink Twice, a psychological thriller from Amazon’s MGM Studios, opened with $7.3 million. Directed by Zoe Kravitz, who also stars alongside her fiancé Channing Tatum, the film features an all-star cast including Christian Slater, Haley Joel Osment, and Geena Davis. Despite the star power, the film’s $80 million budget looms large over its modest opening weekend, casting doubt on its profitability.
Rounding out the top five is The Forge, a faith-based film from Sony, which debuted with $6.6 million. Directed by Alex Kendrick, the film has received strong support from the American Baptist community, and its audience score on Rotten Tomatoes stands at a perfect 100%. With little competition in its niche, The Forge could continue to perform well in the coming weeks.
As the summer box office nears its end, the overall year-to-date earnings stand at 84% of last year’s total and 73% of the 2019 figure at this same point in time. The next significant box office event is expected with the release of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, a PG-13 sequel, on September 6th.
Saturday Night premieres in theaters on October 11, 2024, from Sony Pictures.
This article was brought to you for FREE. Independent Journalism is not. Please support Reel 360 News and Reel Chicago by donating here.
