Messianic Games: “Marvel Jesus” to Beat ‘Passion of the Christ’ as ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ to Become Highest Grossing US R-Rated Movie
Reports of the demise of Marvel’s superhero movies appear to have been premature.
Deadpool & Wolverine, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, punched its way into theaters last week, and the box office results are more than promising.
Marvel’s only MCU feature to be released in 2024 is projected to have taken in $380 million domestically by Sunday, puts it over the first two entries in the Deadpool franchise. Deadpool‘s domestic box office take in 2016 was $363 million, while 2018’s Deadpool 2 came in slightly lower, at $325 million.
Not only that, but Deadpool & Wolverine is now on track to become the highest grossing R-rated movie ever, dethroning Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ, which topped out at $370.7 million. For an R-rated superhero (or rather, supervillain) comparison, 2019’s Joker took in $335.4 million.
The teamup of the “Merc with the Mouth” and THE X-Man has already surpassed the domestic takes of all previous X-Men movies, beating 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand‘s U.S./Canada box office of $234.3 million.
As of Wednesday, Deadpool & Wolverine has grossed $279.1 million, with a third straight blockbuster weekend predicted.