Ryan Reynolds shares a sweet note of gratitude, thanking fans for making Free Guy a surprise hit. After being delayed from last year by the coronavirus pandemic, original video game adventure Free Guy sidestepped a Disney+ release and arrived in theaters this weekend. Directed by Shawn Levy, the movie stars Reynolds as Guy, a kindhearted video game NPC (non-playable character) whose world changes when he meets a player known as Molotov Girl (Jodie Comer). With the game opening up around him, Guy must become the hero of Free City to save it from total destruction.

Going into the weekend, Free Guy was riding a wave of positive reviews. The movie has been declared Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and word-of-mouth seemed good. The early box office projections for Free Guy had it debuting in the $15-$16 million range, though by Saturday, it was estimated to come in well over expectations. Seemingly as a result, Reynolds confirmed Disney is interested in a Free Guy 2though details are still slim on that prospect. Nevertheless, the early signs all indicate Free Guy is a hit.

Related: Free Guy’s MCU Actor Cameo Explained

Sunday morning, Reynolds took to social media to thank fans for turning out to see Free Guy. Though the full box office numbers were not in at the time of his post, Reynolds still shared his appreciation for audiences. "Our company @MaximumEffort has a simple mission: 'Let’s bring people together in fun, smart and unexpected ways,'" he wrote. "Togetherness is the ultimate scarcity good these days so thank you to all the artists and audiences who came TOGETHER to make #FreeGuy such a surprise hit." He included a GIF of him and Lil Rel Howery's characters hugging from the movie, emphasizing Free Guy's message of love and friendship. You can see his post down below.

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With Free Guy currently holding a 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and an A CinemaScore, it's safe to say viewers are responding well to the romantic video game movie. Reynolds has put his heart and soul into promoting the film, declaring it to be his favorite he's ever made and even bringing out his Marvel character Deadpool for a trailer. After being delayed so many times by the pandemic, it must have been a relief to finally release Free Guy out into the world. Though it isn't clear as to how it would've done in a non-COVID setting, Free Guy appears to be making the most of its circumstances.

That seems to mean audiences really should expect a Free Guy in the future. The process appears to be very early on so far, so it isn't clear if Reynolds and Levy even have an idea about what could be next. Though Free Guy told a contained story, it opens up a wider world that can present plenty of sequel and spin-off opportunities. There's a lot of affection for this universe, particularly from Reynolds himself, so perhaps it's best not to say goodbye to Guy, Molotov Girl, and the rest just yet.

More: Does Free Guy Have An End-Credits Scene?

Source: Ryan Reynolds/Twitter