After a historic opening last weekend, the summer of BFF's Deadpool and Wolverine continues with a massive $97 million second frame. Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman suit up for the ultimate team-up two decades in the making. The blockbuster Marvel movie broke several box office records last weekend (the biggest opening for an R-rated film, the biggest in Reynolds and Jackman's career) and is now officially the second highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time (only Joker to beat). Currently, Deadpool and Wolverine have a global haul of $824 million and will cross the $1 billion mark sometime this week.
M. Night Shalyaman's new offering Trap made $16 million; the thriller starring Josh Hartnett has grossed around the same opening as Shalyaman's previous A Knock At The Cabin ($14.1 million) and Old ($16.8 million) with $15.6 million. As expected, Harold and the Purple Crayon would struggle to open above $10 million, but sadly, it could only muster an estimated $6 million debut. Costing a modest $40 million (plus a restrained marketing spend) and based (loosely) on a beloved book, the international box office might turn things around. However, by generating just $3 million so far, the writing could already be on the wall.
Twisters held second place with a $22.6 million third frame, and the Glen Powell-led sequel to the 90s classic is edging toward $200 million domestically. While it still has a few international territories to go, the overseas box office has generated a modest $78 million so far. Holdovers Inside Out 2 and Despicable Me 4 continue to entertain kids over the holidays, with global box office revenues of $1.5 billion and $750 million, respectively.
Next weekend isn't looking that promising, with the long-delayed video game adaptation Borderlands finally hitting cinemas. It would be a massive surprise if Borderlands generated more than $14-19 million for its opening weekend, but based on pre-sales, even that might be ambitious. The lengthy delays and well-documented reshoots (from Deadpool director Tim Miller) did little to help build positive momentum for the movie. The best thing I can say about the marketing is that it feels like somebody asked AI to create a Guardians of the Galaxy-style trailer.
Summer 2024 hasn't had the best of times, and even though audiences showed up for the lone Marvel release this year and some animated sequels, the box office situation is looking bleak. Cineworld and Odeon are closing locations; overall, the UK is losing cinema screens at an alarming rate. Sadly, it will take more than Deadpool and Wolverine to turn things around in the long term.