In a highly unusual turn of events, two movies starring a married couple — Deadpool & Wolverine, and It Ends with Us — took the top two spots at the domestic box office this weekend. Starring Ryan Reynolds, the superhero blockbuster retained its number one position for the third time in a row, while his wife Blake Lively’s romantic drama exceeded expectations in its debut, settling for the number two spot. Combined, the two films grossed more than $100 million, proving that Reynolds and Lively are bona fide box office draws, especially when paired with the right material.
Based on Colleen Hoover’s best-selling 2016 novel, It Ends with Us grossed an estimated $50 million this weekend — a major late-summer win, especially considering its reported production budget of $25 million. The movie rode in on a wave of pre-release buzz akin to 2022’s Don’t Worry Darling, which generated around $20 million in its first weekend. By comparison, the first Twilightfilm opened to nearly $70 million in 2008, while Fifty Shades of Grey debuted at $85 million in 2015. Like those female-skewing movies, It Ends with Us also opened to mixed reviews, but attracted exceptional audience reception.
Directed by Justin Baldoni, the movie currently sits at a nearly “fresh” 59% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. In her review, Collider’s Isabella Soares called the movie “an emotional and effective depiction of domestic violence and how to find the strength to overcome it.” It Ends with Us earned an excellent A- CinemaScore from opening day audiences, which should help draw casual crowds to theaters after the initial fan frenzy has died down. It also holds an excellent 94% audience score on RT.
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Now in its third weekend, Deadpool & Wolverine grossed an estimated $55 million, taking its running domestic total to nearly $500 million. At this rate, the movie is all but guaranteed to pass the $600 million mark domestically. It’s already among the top-grossing Marvel films of all time, and will ultimately challenge Inside Out 2 for the title of 2024’s biggest film. This weekend, Deadpool & Wolverine also passed the coveted $1 billion mark at the global box office, becoming the 11th MCU film in history to do so. It’s also passing Joker’s $1.06 billion lifetime haul this week to become the top-grossing R-rated movie in history.
In third position, Universal’s Twisters generated an estimated $15 million in its fourth weekend, taking its running domestic total to over $220 million. That’s a stellar result for the disaster film, starring Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones. If only the movie had performed just as well in overseas markets, where it has struggled since day one. That being said, Twisters passed the $300 million mark globally this weekend, against a reported budget of over $150 million. In fifth position, Despicable Me 4 added around $8 million in its sixth weekend, taking its running total to a solid $330 million, and its global haul past the $800 million mark.
Debuting in fourth place this weekend, Lionsgate’s Borderlands bombed with under $9 million. The much-delayed video game adaptation had a troubled production, which saw writer Craig Mazin have his name removed from the credits, and Tim Miller step in to oversee re-shoots in director Eli Roth’s absence. What’s even more damaging than the film’s reported $110 million-plus production budget — which, according to sources, was largely covered through international licensing — is the fact that it opened to terrible reviews, and currently sits at a “rotten” 10% score on RT. Audiences seem to be just as angry, awarding it a D+ CinemaScore. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
via Collider