Deadpool passed $200 million in domestic grosses on Saturday, its ninth day in theatres. Clearly a number of films have made it to that mark in less time (18 to be exact), though the list of films that Deadpool has now surpassed by day nine remains impressive, including Avatar and Iron Man 2. Last weekend’s three-day actual for Deadpool was a bit lower than estimated ($132.4 million) so the Fox feature ranks as the seventeenth biggest opening of all time overall – but the biggest R-rated opening ever by a wide margin.

According to studio estimates, Deadpool took in another $55 million this weekend. That equals a drop of 58.5% from its debut, which is fairly average among recent comic-inspired movies. In terms of that hold, it’s important to note that Deadpool remains an outlier thanks to its R-rating and its winter release so comparing it to summer superheroes with more family-friendly MPAA ratings isn’t particularly helpful. The fact is, Deadpool has no direct comps. It’s in a class all its own.


Along with Deadpool in first, Fox can also claim this weekend’s second-biggest release with Kung Fu Panda 3. The animated threequel was down 36% on its fourth frame, bringing its domestic total up to $117.1 million. At the same point in its run, Kung Fu Panda 2 had grossed $143.6 million. Worldwide, Panda 3 has earned $279.7 million – less than half of its predecessor’s final global cume of $665 million.

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Among this weekend’s new releases, Risen remained strongest with its third-place debut. The period Christian drama from Sony opened with an estimated $11.8 million. That’s on par with the $11.3 million launch of Sony/TriStar’s War Room (which also targeted Christian audiences) except for one thing: War Room opened in just 1,135 locations back in August while Risen had a much wider release in 2,915 venues. On the plus side, Risen received a promising A- from CinemaScore audiences, which could help it play well in the weeks to come. The film’s critical reception was more mixed (59% on Rotten Tomatoes) though that is not typically a deciding factor for Christian viewers. God’s Not Dead and Son of God both did well in 2014 despite RT scores of 21% or lower.

Based on its smaller theatre count, A24’s The Witch was actually stronger than Risen this weekend, despite ranking below it on the top ten. The period horror pic earned an estimated $8.6 million from 2,046 locations, which is more than Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension earned opened with last October. We told you yesterday that The Witch was initially not scheduled to be released in theatres at all. Horror fans championed the film and critics have also been unusually supportive: giving The Witch an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s a score that most horror movies can only dream of (The Conjuring being one notable exception), though The Witch was far less successful with CinemaScore audiences who gave it a C-.


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The weekend’s final new release received an A from CinemaScore, but that didn’t help Race get ahead of the pack. Focus Features’ Jesse Owens biopic earned an estimated $7.2 million from 2,369 locations. To be fair, that amount falls in the projected range for Race but it is far from encouraging. On the same weekend last year, McFarland, USA (another sports drama) opened with $11 million while the Jackie Robinson biopic 42 launched with a big $27.4 million in April of 2013. Both prior releases had higher theatre counts and stronger reviews than Race, but still…

Next weekend will bring the box office another sports movie with Fox’s Eddie the Eagle. At this point Eddie is expected to open in the same range as Race, though word of mouth could still work in the new film’s favor. Also opening next week are Gods of Egypt and Triple 9 –both targeting $12 million at this point. So all in all it looks like it will be another good weekend to be Deadpool.

Here’s the current top ten, based on studio estimates:


 Title

Weekend

Total

1.

 Deadpool

$55,000,000

$235.4

2.

 Kung Fu Panda 3

$12,500,000

$117.1

3.

 Risen

$11,800,000

$11.8

4.

 The Witch

$8,685,000

$8.6

5.

 How to be Single

$8,220,000

$31.7

6.

 Race

$7,275,000

$7.2

7.

 Zoolander 2

$5,500,000

$23.7

8.

 Star Wars: The Force Awakens

$3,836,000

$921.6

9.

 The Revenant

$3,800,000

$165.1

10.

 Hail, Caesar!

$2,640,000

$26.1

 

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