‘Deadpool’ blasts N. America box office records
This image released by Twentieth Century Fox shows Ryan Reyonlds in a scene from the film, “Deadpool.” Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. via AP
LOS ANGELES, United States—Superhero movie “Deadpool” dominated the North American box office on its debut weekend, taking in a record breaking $152 million and leaving its competitors in the dust, industry estimates showed Tuesday.
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Starring Ryan Reynolds as a Marvel Comics character, the film’s blow out reception in theaters propelled it to the biggest-ever February and R-rated debut, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore.
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The figure included box office receipts for Monday, which was a public holiday in the United States.
Far behind in second place was “Kung Fu Panda 3″—Dreamworks’ computer-animated comedy that follows the adventures of Po as he evolves from martial arts student to teacher—which took in $25.9 million.
Featuring the voices of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman and Angelina Jolie, it has garnered $100 million since its release.
Also making its debut—in third place—was “How To Be Single,” a comedy about solo life set in New York City starring Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson and Leslie Mann.
It saw $19.9 million in ticket sales over Valentine’s Day weekend.
Fourth place went to fellow new release “Zoolander 2,” which snagged $15.9 million.
Starring and directed and co-written by Ben Stiller, the comedy that dips into the fashion world also features Penelope Cruz and Owen Wilson.
Coming in fifth was “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” only the third film ever to reach the $2 billion mark in global ticket sales, which took in $7.6 million over the weekend.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
— “The Revenant,” $7.6 million
— “Hail, Caesar!,” $7.4 million
— “The Choice,” $5.8 million
— “Ride Along 2,” $5.1 million
— “The Boy,” $3.6 million
