‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ crosses $1bn at global box office; ‘It Ends With Us’ enjoys $80m debut (2024)

Worldwide box office August 9-11

Credit: Comscore. All figures are estimates.

‘It Ends With Us’ powered by strong US opening

The Blake Lively-Ryan Reynolds household had plenty to celebrate at the weekend, with Lively’s romantic drama It Ends With Us making an estimated $80m debut worldwide, only eclipsed by the estimated $112m latest session for Reynolds’ Deadpool & Wolverine.

The films were number one and two at the North America box office – the first time a married couple has achieved this feat since summer 1990, when at one point Die Hard 2 (starring Bruce Willis) and Ghost (with wife Demi Moore) were the top two titles.

Columbia Pictures/Wayfarer Studios’ It Ends With Us, adapted from Colleen Hoover’s 2016 romance novel, proved especially powerful in North America, with an estimated $50.0m debut. For international, the Sony release began with an estimated $30.0m from 41 markets, led by UK/Irealnd with an estimated $5.7m – and knocking Deadpool & Wolverine off the top of the box office.

Europe collectively delivered an estimated $13.5m, including $1.0m apiece from Sweden and the Netherlands.

Latin America accounted for an estimated $7.8m, led by top markets Brazil ($3.4m) and Mexico ($2.5m).

Asia-Pacific contributed an estimated $6.6m, led by Australia with a very strong $4.7m. The Middle East added a handy $2.1m, with $802,000 for UAE and $671,000 in Saudi Arabia. The film did not achieve release in Qatar due to content involving kissing and a non-graphic intimate scene. (It Ends With Us is rated PG-13 in the US.)

With a production budget reported at $25m, It Ends With Uscould soon head into profit, even factoring in marketing costs and revenue splits with cinemas. Markets yet to open include France, Germany, Austria, Colombia and Thailand (all opening this coming week), Italy (August 21), China and Taiwan (both August 30), with Singapore, South Korea and Japan to follow.

The film opened 44% ahead of 2014’s The Fault In Our Stars in international markets opened so far and 50% ahead of The Girl On The Train (not adjusted for inflation). Those two literary adaptations respectively reached $307.2m and $173.2m lifetime at the worldwide box office.

Directed by Justin Baldoni from a screenplay by Christy Hall, It Ends With Us stars Lively as a woman forced by events to recalibrate her relationship with a neurosurgeon (Baldoni), reconnecting with a friend from her past (Brandon Sklenar).

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ hits $1bn after three weekends

Estimated third-weekend takings of $112.0m pushed Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine to a $1.03bn worldwide total, becoming the 11^th Marvel Cinematic Universe film (including two for Sony) to achieve the $1bn feat.

So far, 55 films have hit $1bn worldwide, and Disney is home to 31 of them (including three Fox titles pre-acquisition).

For the third weekend of play, Deadpool & Wolverine added an estimated $54.2m in North America, falling 44%, and holding off the challenge of It Ends With Us. For international, Deadpool & Wolverine delivered an estimated $57.8m, dropping 48%.

UK/Ireland ($54.5m to date) is poised to overtake China ($54.8m) to become the film’s top international market. Mexico ($38.2m) follows in third place, ahead of Australia ($31.3m), Germany ($25.5m), France ($23.6m) and Brazil ($22.1m).

The past week saw Deadpool & Wolverine overtake Universal’s Oppenheimer ($975m) to become the second-biggest R-rated film of all time at the worldwide box office, behind only Warner Bros’ Joker ($1.08bn). Another $50m in global box office will see Marvel’s film snatch the R-rated crown.

Also for Disney, Pixar’s Inside Out 2 added an estimated $19.5m worldwide at the weekend, taking the global total to $1.59bn. The film remains in 10^th place in the all-time global ranking, behind The Lion King ($1.66bn, 2019 remake version). These figures are not adjusted for inflation.

‘Borderlands’ stumbles with $16.5m debut

Despite an intriguing cast including Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart and Jack Black, Eli Roth’s Borderlands underwhelmed with an estimated $8.8m North American opening for Lionsgate, plus $7.7m from 73 international markets. Those numbers combine for a $16.5m debut, only enough for 10^th place in Comscore’s latest worldwide weekend chart.

There are three Chinese films, two of which are so far released in China only, that rank higher than Borderlands in the latest worldwide chart: Successor and new releases Upstream and White Snake: Afloat.

For international, Borderlands’ top markets so far are UK/Ireland (an estimated $1.05m) and France ($982,000), ahead of Australia ($325,000), Spain ($300,000) and Netherlands ($278,000).

Borderlands is based on the Gearbox Software videogame of the same name, and tells the story of an alliance of misfits seeking a missing teenager.

‘Twisters’ hits $300m milestone as ‘Despicable Me 4’ passes $800m

UPDATED: Twisters added another $19.1m (estimated) at the weekend, pushing the tornado film past $300m, for a total to date of $310.1m. However, the film – distributed by Universal in North America and Warner Bros overseas – still has a long way to go to match the $494.6m achieved by the original Twister in 1996, and these numbers are not adjusted for inflation.

Illumination’s Despicable Me 4 added a confirmed $27.4m, pushing the animated adventure through $800m, for an $807.9m total.

The sequel has overtaken 2010’s original Despicable Me ($543.3m lifetime worldwide), but currently ranks behind the other two Despicable Me films and both Minions films. Universal will be hoping for a steady sustain for Despicable Me 4 through to the end of the summer holiday.

• ‘It Ends With Us’ stuns UK-Ireland box office with £4.5m top spot