‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ $97-m second weekend new high for R-rated films

NEW YORK (AP):

After 10 days in theatres, Deadpool & Wolverine is already the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever, not accounting for inflation.

In its second weekend, the Marvel Studios blockbuster starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman continued to steamroll through movie theatres, collecting $97 million according to studio estimates Sunday. That raised its two-week total to $395.6 million, pushing it past the long-reigning top R-rated feature, The Passion of the Christ, which held that mark for 20 years with $370 million domestic.

Worldwide, the Shawn Levy-directed Deadpool & Wolverine has quickly amassed $824.1 million in ticket sales, a total that already surpasses the global hauls of the first two Deadpool films. The 2016 original grossed $782.6 million worldwide; the 2018 sequel collected $734.5 million.

The weekend’s primary challengers both struggled.

M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller, Trap, managed a modest opening of $15.6 million at 3,181 theatres for Warner Bros. The film, starring Josh Hartnett as a serial killer hunted by police at a pop concert, didn’t screen for critics before opening day and scored lower in reviews (48 per cent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) than Shyamalan’s films typically do. Audiences gave it a C+ CinemaScore.

With a budget of about $35 million, Trap didn’t need a huge opening, but may struggle to break even.

The live-action Harold and the Purple Crayon, adapted from the classic kids book, also didn’t make much of a mark in theatres. The Sony Pictures release debuted with $6 million. It, too, got dinged by critics (28 per cent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), though audiences (an A- CinemaScore) liked it more.