'Deadpool and Wolverine' snares $205 million domestic opening, highest R-rated debut ever

Marvel is back on top.

"Deadpool & Wolverine" shattered box office records this weekend, tallying $205 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening, the highest debut of 2024 and of an R-rated film ever.

The film outpaced analysts' expectations, which called for an opening haul between $160 million and $180 million.

"The massive debut for 'Deadpool & Wolverine' should convince those who were throwing in the towel for the big screen back in May that you can never underestimate the power, allure resiliency and, yes, unpredictability of the movie theater experience," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

Internationally, the film secured $233.3 million, bringing its estimated global haul to $438.3 million for the full weekend.

"Deadpool & Wolverine" is the 34th film to be released under the MCU banner and the first of the Disney-produced installments to garner an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association. The previous two Deadpool films, both rated R, were produced and released through 20th Century Fox. Disney acquired the company in 2019, bringing the X-Men and Fantastic Four back into the larger Marvel portfolio.

Similar to previous entries in the MCU, "Deadpool & Wolverine" benefitted from fan fervor. Audiences were eager to see the flick in its opening weekend in order to avoid spoilers. Disney kept much of the film's content secret and provided limited press screenings prior to its debut.

The strong opening of "Deadpool & Wolverine" comes after a post-pandemic box office slump for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney overcrowded the market with superhero streaming content in recent years and its push for quantity at the box office led to a drop in quality.

"Marvel took a mini-break to help