Deadpool 2 has reached a global box office milestone by cracking the list of the top 3 highest-grossing R-rated films. Starring Ryan Reynolds in his second solo outing as the irreverent Marvel superhero, Deadpool 2 was released in May with a mountain of expectations in front of it. Mainly, the film had to find a way to top the original with just as entertaining a story line, but just as daunting, it had task of trying to equal if not top the massive box office haul of the 2016 film. Globally, the first Deadpool made $783 million, a remarkable gross considering the film was rated R.
Naturally, Deadpool 2 carried an R-rating as well, but like its predecessor, the restricted viewing tag place on it by the Motion Picture Association of America didn't deter the film from earning $125.5 million in its opening weekend, which was relatively on-par with Deadpool's opening of $132.4 million in February 2016. Since then, Deadpool 2 has been riding high in ticket sales both domestically and overseas, proving that the Merc with a Mouth is putting his money where his mouth is.
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According to Deadline, Deadpool 2's box office performance in the U.S. and abroad over the weekend was enough to push the film's global take to $705 million, passing the final worldwide tally of $700.3 million of IT to take the third spot on the all-time list of highest grossing R-rated films. The first Deadpool remains the top-grossing R-rated movie of all-time with $783.1 million in global ticket sales, followed by The Matrix Reloaded, which in second place with $742.1 million in worldwide.
To date, Deadpool 2 has earned $304.1 million domestically, becoming only the fifth R-rated movie in history to cross the $300 million mark. With a stateside take of $370.7 million, The Passion of the Christ remains the top R-rated domestic box office record-holder, ahead of Deadpool ($363 million), American Sniper ($350.1 million) and IT ($327.4 million). Overseas, Deadpool 2 has earned $403 million to date, with its strongest showings coming in the UK ($43.1 million), Korea ($31.8 million), Australia ($26.7 million), Germany ($22.2 million) and Russia ($21.8 million). At current, the Deadpool 2 is playing in 63 foreign territories.
While it is unlikely to break the global record set by its predecessor, Deadpool 2 appears to have a legitimate shot at cracking the number 2 all-time global box office slot held by The Matrix Reloaded. Even if it doesn't, Reynolds, director David Leitch, the cast and crew, and everyone else at 20th Century Fox have no reason to hang their heads, since they proved that the original Deadpool wasn't a fluke regarding the financial viability of R-rated superhero films. With the studio's X-Men spinoff Logan as another example, Deadpool 2 has sent a clear signal that the R-rated superhero genre is here to stay, allowing Fox to make the forthcoming X-Force with confidence.
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Source: Deadline
