20th Century Fox launched Deadpool into 2,975 theaters at 7 p.m. on Thursday night, and the Ryan Reynolds-starrer earned an impressive $12.7 million, a new February preview record and the biggest ever for an R-rated film. The Tim Miller-directed comic book adaptation beat previous preview record holder The Hangover Part II‘s $10.4 million from Memorial Day weekend in 2011 and last year’s Fifty Shades of Grey ($8.6 million), which went on to set a new Presidents’ Day weekend record of $93 million for the four days.
It was previously reported that Deadpool, which cost about $58 million to make, should be able to top $65 million or more over the four days. How much do you think it will earn this weekend?
Deadpool stars Ryan Reynolds stars as the title character alongside T.J. Miller as Weasel, Gina Carano as Angel Dust, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Morena Baccarin as Copycat, and Ed Skrein as Ajax. The film also features the mutant Colossus, voiced by Serbian actor Stefan Kapicic.
Based upon Marvel Comics’ most unconventional anti-hero, Deadpool tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.
