“Deadpool & Wolverine” has achieved a major milestone at the box office, surpassing $600 million in domestic ticket sales. It is one of 16 films in history to reach this record.
Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” achieved the feat over the monstrous Labor Day weekend, dominating the box office in its sixth outing. The R-rated film, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, took in $15.2 million over the weekend and an estimated $19.5 million from 3,630 locations through Monday. “Deadpool & Wolverine” has held the top spot for five of the past six weekends and is the second-highest-grossing film of the year with $603.8 million in North America and $1.25 billion worldwide.
Labor Day isn’t known for being a holiday that brings people to the movies, but this weekend was one of the slowest of the year. The summer season ended with domestic revenue down 14.3% from 2023 and 26.6% from 2019, the last year before Covid, according to Comscore.
“The somewhat slow Labor Day weekend marks a quiet end to what has been a strong summer comeback,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst at ComScore. “June and July were a run of tremendous success.”
Although several films opened nationwide — the Dennis Quaid biopic “Reagan,” the Sony/Blumhouse horror “Afraid,” the Lionsgate crime thriller “1992” and the Roadside human trafficking drama “City of Dreams” among them — only one of these new films cracked the top five.
“Reagan” came in at No. 4 with $7.4 million over the weekend and an estimated $9.2 million from 2,754 theaters through Monday. Critics hated the film (18% on Rotten Tomatoes) but audiences liked it better (an “A” on CinemaScore), so there’s a chance “Reagan” will stay at the box office.
Directed by Sean McNamara (Soul Surfer), the film is based on Paul Kengor's 2006 book, Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism. Told through a conversation between former KGB agent Viktor Petrovich (Jon Voight) and rising Russian politician Andrei Novikov (Alexei Sparrow), the film chronicles Ronald Reagan's life from childhood through his years as President of the United States. ShowBiz Direct, an independent distributor, is releasing the film.
“We are thrilled to be opening in the top five with our first film in a competitive market this weekend,” said Kevin Mitchell, president of the recently launched Showbiz Direct. “We expect the film to continue to grow in the coming weeks, especially in the South and Midwest.”
“Afraid”, a sci-fi horror story about a revolutionary smart home AI that becomes… also The film, described as a “scared” movie, fell to ninth place with $3.7 million over the weekend and an estimated $4.4 million from 3,003 theaters through Monday. Critics and audiences have been unimpressed with the film — a 26% on Rotten Tomatoes and a “C+” on CinemaScore — which doesn’t bode well for word-of-mouth. Fortunately, “Scared” had a production budget of $12 million, so any losses during its theatrical run won’t be too painful. The film was directed by Chris Weitz and stars John Cho and Katherine Waterston.
“1992” opened in 14th place with $1.3 million over the weekend and is estimated to have grossed $1.65 million from 875 theaters through Monday. The film, starring Tyrese Gibson and Scott Eastwood, is about a store owner who must save his son from an angry mob during the Los Angeles uprising following the Rodney King verdict.
Meanwhile, “City of Dreams” was No. 19 with $760,000 over the weekend and about $990,000 from 770 screens through Monday. Written and directed by Mohit Ramchandani, the film tells the story of a young Mexican farmer who travels to Los Angeles with the promise of a soccer camp, only to discover he has been sold to a sweatshop.
It’s clear how many people saw “City of Dreams” because the majority of ticket sales were not revenue in the traditional sense. In an unusual move, the filmmakers and John Devaney, founder of United Capital and Manor House Films, donated $1 million in free tickets. Their donations were made to “individuals and groups, including anti-trafficking organizations, survivors, schools, churches, municipalities, and people who might not otherwise be able to see the film,” according to a press release.
Elsewhere, the sci-fi thriller “Slingshot” took in $485,282 in its opening weekend, and an estimated $572,763 from 845 screens over the four days. Casey Affleck plays an astronaut struggling to maintain his grip on reality on a potentially deadly mission to Saturn’s moon Titan.
Sci-fi thriller “Alien: Romulus,” romantic drama “It Ends With Us” and disaster epic “Twisters” rounded out the top five.
In second place, “Alien: Romulus” added $9.3 million over the weekend and about $11.5 million from 3,120 theaters in its third frame. So far, the latest chapter in the sci-fi horror franchise from Disney and 20th Century Fox has grossed $91 million domestically and $283.5 million worldwide.
“It Ends With Us” remained in third place, with the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel taking in $7.4 million over the weekend and an estimated $9.5 million from 3,551 locations through Monday’s holiday weekend. After four weeks in theaters, “It Ends With Us” has grossed $135.8 million in North America and $283.7 million worldwide.
“Twisters” was fifth with $7.1 million over the weekend and about $8.7 million from 3,005 theaters through Monday. The Universal sequel, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos, has grossed $259.6 million domestically and more than $351 million worldwide after seven weeks on the big screen.
