Box Office Report for the Week of July 28

Marvel is back, thanks in part to MARVEL JESUS. After a string of critical and/or commercial duds, Deadpool & Wolverine has put the Marvel Cinematic Universe back on track, with a record-setting $205 million domestic opening, and a $438 million total tally, the biggest-ever for an R-rated film and the biggest opening since…Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Reports of the MCU’s demise were greatly exaggerated, even if the franchise hasn’t hit the zeitgeist for some time. We’re going to see how this one will leg out, but with a $400 million worldwide opening, it’s safe to say that the film is well on its way to make $1 billion worldwide, which would only be the second R-rated film to hit that number after 2019’s Joker.

Plus, it won’t precipitously drop either since most of the word of mouth has been positive, and there is no massive blockbuster out until Alien: Romulus (unless you count Borderlands as such). It will enjoy no competition for some time and, yes I admit it, the film will cross that billion-dollar mark. As I said, I am more conservative than most on box office predictions, especially with how the MCU has been performing lately. I’ve said that the movie will make $800-900 million, but with such a powerful opening, there’s no denying Deadpool will be one of the most commercially successful MCU films since Avengers: Endgame.

Perhaps the MCU is washed, with the recent announcement of Robert Downey Jr. returning as…Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday (which, dear reader, I still hope Kevin Feige says “Oh, we’re just kidding, here’s our real actor” at D23). But as it stands, there’s no denying how massive the franchise is, not only in the public eye, but for movie theatres. With hit after hit finally giving theatres the morale they need after a double strike last year, we are well on our way to a box office recovery.

Here’s another sign of recovery: Longlegs crossed the $100 million mark, the highest-grossing NEON film ever. The marketing campaign worked well in its favor, and the movie will likely be the most successful independent film of the year. There are still lots of major awards contenders to be released, but it’s great to see both blockbuster and independent cinema thriving at a time where cinemas desperately need diverse films to draw in viewers from all tastes.

Here is the full list of the top ten films of the weekend:

1. Deadpool & Wolverine (Disney): $205.0M – 4,210 theatres
2. Twisters (Universal): $35.3M (-57%) – 4,170 theatres
3. Despicable Me 4 (Universal): $14.2M (-42%) – 3,610 theatres
4. Inside Out 2 (Disney): $8.3M (-35%) – 3,150 theatres
5. Longlegs (NEON): $6.8M (-43%) – 2,732 theatres
6. A Quiet Place: Day One (Paramount): $3.0M (-52%) – 1,932 theatres
7. Bad Boys: Ride or Die (Sony): $1.3M (-52%) – 1,006 theatres
8. The Fabulous Four (Bleecker Street): $1.0M – 1,045 theatres
9. Fly Me to the Moon (Sony): $750.000 (77%) – 1,314 theatres
10. Raayan (Prime Media Pictures): $378.571 – 120 theatres

Source: Comscore