Disney revealed that the Marvel Studios movie featuring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman made $1.086 billion globally in just 23 days.
The movie Deadpool & Wolverine has now earned more money than any other R-rated film ever, beating the previous record held by Joaquin Phoenix‘s Joker. On Friday, August 16, Walt Disney Studios announced that Ryan Reynolds‘ latest superhero comedy crossed $1 billion worldwide last weekend, making it the highest-grossing R-rated movie in history.
Marvel Studios shared that the movie, featuring Hugh Jackman in his first role as Wolverine since 2017’s Logan, and directed by Shawn Levy, who often works with Ryan Reynolds, has made $1.086 billion worldwide in just 23 days since it was released.
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Among all the movies released in 2024, Deadpool & Wolverine is now the second-highest earner, just behind Pixar’s Inside Out 2, which hit $1 billion in July. This achievement also means Disney holds the top two spots for the year and is the only studio to ever release two $1 billion movies back-to-back in a single year, according to the press release.
Reynolds and Marvel spread the news on social media too. On Friday, Ryan Reynolds shared a post from Marvel Studios on his Instagram Stories, which included a message from the company’s president, Kevin Feige.
“Thanks for making Marvel Studios’ first R-rated movie the most successful ever,” Feige wrote in the post. “It’s amazing to see how much everyone loves this movie, just like we loved creating it. All those talks really paid off!”
Disney shared more stats with its box office announcement, noting that Deadpool & Wolverine is the 31st Walt Disney Studios movie to make over $1 billion worldwide. It’s also the 11th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to reach this milestone.
Earlier this week, Ryan Reynolds, 47, joked about sharing the spotlight with his wife, Blake Lively. Her new drama, It Ends with Us, made over $50 million in the U.S. during its opening weekend, according to Variety. Meanwhile, Deadpool & Wolverine earned $54.2 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening weekend.
In an interview with Willie Geist on Sunday Today, which will air this weekend, Ryan Reynolds joked that their box office competition was “the only time in my life I’ve ever hoped to come in second.”
He laughed and added, “I think that’s a sign of a good relationship. Blake and I have always supported each other, no matter what.”
This is the first time in more than 30 years that a married couple’s movies have both topped the box office. The last time a celebrity couple did this was in 1990, when Bruce Willis’s Die Hard 2 and Demi Moore’s Ghost took the No. 1 and No. 2 spots.
Source: Variety