“Deadpool & Wolverine” is expected to do blockbuster numbers at the box office once it opens in theaters on July 26th. But how high are we talking?
“Inside Out 2” is currently the highest grossing movie of the summer, with $550 million and counting domestically. Worldwide, the total is approaching $1.3 Billion. Incredible. It may be a little difficult for “D&W” to reach those levels and be crowned the victor of Summer 2024.
But just last summer, a major R-rated release earned close to $1 Billion worldwide — eventual Best Picture Oscar winner “Oppenheimer”. It did very well considering the MPA rating, subject matter and three-hour runtime. But with Christopher Nolan as the director and a star-studded cast, led by Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and Robert Downey, Jr., on top of the “Barbenheimer” factor, “Oppenheimer” had such an unforgettable run in theaters. So did “Barbie”, which totaled $1.445B.
So maybe “Deadpool & Wolverine” gets to the $975M global total of “Oppenheimer”. It would certainly be a tremendous bounce back for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which reached one of its lowest lows last November. “The Marvels” earned just $206 million around the world. Last summer’s “Guardians of the Galaxy 3” made a very respectable $846M. $1 Billion is not that far away.
“D&W” officially marks the first time both title characters are in the MCU — and under The Mouse House’s control (after Disney absorbed all of 20th Century Fox’s properties, including the “X-Men” saga). “Logan”, Hugh Jackman’s previous (and originally final) outing as Wolverine, made $227M domestically and $619M worldwide in March 2017. 2016’s “Deadpool” ($783M worldwide) actually did a little better than in North America than 2018’s “Deadpool 2” ($363M to $325M), but the worldwide total for “2” was a few million more ($786M).
Finally having Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman join forces in these roles should make for a can’t-miss experience for diehard comic book and comic book movie fans this summer. How many weeks will it be No. 1? How much repeat business will there be? And, most importantly, how good is the movie?
(Source: Box Office Mojo)