No surprises here. Deadpool and Wolverine, which was always going to be an easy sell, absolutely exploded at the box office, slicing up $205 million. Keep in mind that number is almost certainly going to get larger once actuals come in tomorrow. This is the best opening ever for an R-rated movie, the best ever for July, and the best of 2024 so far (though I will add that “preview showings” for Deadverine began at 3:00 PM, so really, we are talking about a four-day weekend here, but I digress).

For Disney and Marvel, this is a much-needed positive headline for them after The Marvels flopped hard last November. This time, they had a team-up that audiences actually cared about, and the result was easy money. Assuming it’s not completely front-loaded, Wolverpool should have a healthy life ahead of it well into August. Next up for superhero fans are Joker 2 and Venom 3, both in October, and both positioned to do well. Sorry, Marty, but the genre is far from dead.

Meanwhile, Twisters was always going to pull a nosedive facing off against the premiere of a Marvel blockbuster, but it remained on audience’s radar, bringing in a solid $35 million. So far, the family-friendly tentpole has brought in $154 million, which brings it up a category.

As for Despicable Me 4 and Inside Out 2, they continue to remain seemingly unstoppable. In fact, Inside Out 2 is now the biggest animated film ever, surpassing Incredibles 2 stateside and Frozen II worldwide. How the heck did this happen? An empty market. With virtually no competition for their target demographic, Riley’s emotions and Gru’s Minions are reaping the rewards.

Anyway, the top ten, via Deadline

1.) Deadpool & Wolverine (Dis) 4,210 theaters Fri $96M, Sat $61.5M Sun $47.5M 3-day $205M/Wk 1

2.) Twisters (Uni/WB) 4,151 theaters, Fri $10.3M Sat $13.8M Sun $11.1M, 3-day $35.3M (-57%), Total $154.9M/Wk 2

3.) Despicable Me 4 (Uni) 3,610 (-502) theaters, Fri $4.4M Sat $5.5M Sun $4.1M 3-day $14.2M (-42%), Total $290.9M/Wk 4

4.) Inside Out 2 (Dis) 3,150 (-475) theaters Fri $2.5MSat $3.3M Sun $2.5M 3-day $8.3M (-35%) Total $613.4M/Wk 7
Highest-grossing animated movie ever beating Incredibles 2‘s $608.5M!!

5.) Longlegs (NEON) 2,732 (-118) theatres, Fri $2.2M Sat $2.6M Sun $1.9M, 3-day $6.7M (-43%), Total $58.6M/Wk 3

6.) A Quiet Place: Day One (Par) 1,932 (-981) theaters, Fri $955K  Sat $1.2M Sun $830K 3-day $3M (-52%), Total $134.2M/Wk 5

7.) Bad Boys Ride or Die (Sony) 1,006 (-710) theaters, Fri $390K Sat $540K Sun $345K, 3-day $1.27M(-52%), Total $191.7M/Wk 8

8.) The Fabulous Four (BST) 1,045 theaters, Fri $365KSat $358K Sun $286K 3-day $1M/Wk 1

9.) Fly Me to the Moon (App/Sony) 1,314 (-2042) locations, Fri $220K Sat $320K Sun $210K 3-day $750K (-77%) Total $19.1M/Wk 3

10) Raayan (PMP) 133 theaters, Fri $137K, Sat $138KSun $102K 3-day $378K, Total $453K, Wk 1