‘Deadpool 2’ Hits $705M WW Box Office, Becomes #3 R-Rated Title Ever

Fox’s Deadpool 2 crossed the $700 million worldwide mark this weekend, taking the global tally to $705M on the Ryan Reynolds-starrer. That lifts the Merc with the Mouth’s sequel past IT to become the No. 3 R-rated movie of all time behind the first Deadpool and The Matrix Reloaded. Through Sunday, the split is $304.1M domestic and $400.9M at the international box office.

Wade Wilson’s alter-ego started strutting his stuff May 15 overseas, setting a record as Fox International’s biggest opening of all time with $176.3M in 81 markets. That topped the studio’s previous record-holder, 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, which bowed to $174M including $38.3M from China. DP2 also nabbed the highest-grossing R-rated debut internationally, overtaking last year’s Logan which opened with $160M and included $49.7M from China.

As with the original Deadpool, DP2 distribution hubs do not include China, making the overseas cume all the more impressive. The current film is running about 5% behind the 2016 movie in the same bucket of offshore markets and at today’s exchange rates. It will see a healthy profit.

Response to the sequel was highly positive, but thinking was that DP2 would get dented by Solo: A Star Wars Story opening hot on the Merc’s heels. When Solo failed to take off, DP2 re-claimed No. 1 in the 3rd frame internationally in early June, and has held well.

The current weekend was worth $5.4M with play especially strong in Japan as the movie held the top Hollywood slot for the 4th session in a row and with a 40% drop in 63 markets overall.

Helmed by David Leitch, DP2 follows the titular red-suited scamp as he tries to bring a wild and dangerous young mutant under his wing. Cable (Josh Brolin) complicates events by showing up from the future with plans to kill the young boy.

Reynolds was tireless in his overseas promotional efforts and the travel paid dividends. There was clear anticipation for the sequel with the property now better known around the world and markets where Reynolds (and Brolin) traveled saw benefits. The movie was No. 1 in each of its initial launches.

The Top 5 markets to date are: the UK ($43.1M), Korea ($31.8M), Australia ($26.7M), Germany ($22.2M) and Russia ($21.8M).