Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe has become the first franchise in history to surpass $30 billion at the global box office. The milestone was announced during the studio's Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con, led by studio president Kevin Feige.
Deadpool & Wolverine, the latest film in the series, took in $96 million on its opening day in North America — the biggest opening ever for an R-rated film and the sixth-highest grossing of all time. The film is expected to gross between $195 million and $205 million domestically and between $380 million and $400 million worldwide through Sunday.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the most prolific film franchises of all time, with 34 installments over 15 years. The comic book giant has delivered an unprecedented string of blockbusters since its inception with 2008’s “Iron Man,” including “Avengers: Endgame” ($2.799 billion) and “Infinity War” ($2.05 billion), two of the highest-grossing films of all time. Even recent flops like “Immortals” ($402 million), “Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania” ($476 million), and “The Marvels” ($206 million) would rank as wins for any other studio. However, those films cost $200 million or more to make, so they lost money for Disney in their theatrical releases.
Other top-grossing franchises include Sony’s “Spider-Man,” which has grossed $10.6 billion across 10 films; “Star Wars,” which has grossed $10.3 billion across 11 films; “Harry Potter,” which has grossed $9.6 billion across 11 films; and “James Bond,” which has grossed $7.8 billion across 25 films. So all of these franchises have a lot of work to do if they’re going to catch up with Marvel’s costumed heroes.
Shawn Levy directs “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which pairs Ryan Reynolds’ sarcastic mercenary and Hugh Jackman’s gruff mutant on a mission to save the world of the Merc With a Mouth. The cast is rounded out by Emma Corrin as Cassandra Nova, Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Paradox, Robert Delaney as Peter, and Leslie Uggams as Blind Al.
