Adding more fuel to the “feud” between Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, Deadpool 2 has now passed Logan at the domestic box office. They only briefly appeared in one movie together - when a very lame version of Deadpool battled Wolverine atop a nuclear power plant in X-Men Origins: Wolverine - but Deadpool and Wolverine are strongly connected in movie lore.
The two characters are connected because, before studios believed R-rated comic book movies could make money, Deadpool and then Logan proved that audiences will flock to superhero films with an adult edge. They’re also connected because, every chance he gets, Deadpool makes jokes about Wolverine. Deadpool 2 in fact is filled with such fourth-wall-breaking references. And indeed, Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds just can’t help teasing Hugh Jackman in the real world, while continuing to call for a crossover movie between his Merc With a Mouth and Jackman’s Logan.
During the lead-up to Deadpool 2, Hugh Jackman played along with Reynolds by appearing with him in a dance number during CinemaCon, and by doing a video where Deadpool crashed his bedroom. But Jackman may now regret the extra push he gave his pals in the other R-rated X-Men universe movie, as Deadpool 2 has passed Jackman’s own Logan at the domestic box office. Forbes reports that with a Wednesday gross of $3.8 million, Deadpool 2 climbed to $227.7 million overall, nudging it past Logan which finished its run at $226 million.
By passing Logan, Deadpool 2 becomes the fourth-highest-grossing X-Men related movie, trailing only the first Deadpool ($363 million), X-Men: The Last Stand ($234 million) and X-Men: Days of Future Past ($233 million). But with Deadpool 2 still in theaters and still racking up good numbers, it will easily surpass the two proper X-Men movies and probably settle into second on the above list behind only the first Deadpool. It looks like Deadpool 2 will ultimately fall short of passing Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, which remains the all-time domestic R-rated box office champ with $370 million.
Deadpool likely won’t have a chance to take down Mel Gibson, but he’s already bested Wolverine for a second time. Hugh Jackman unfortunately will never have a chance to take the box office crown back from Ryan Reynolds, as he’s officially retired from playing Wolverine after Logan. The fact of Jackman having hung up his claws of course will not stop Ryan Reynolds from demanding he and Wolverine appear together in a movie. In the meantime, Reynolds will soon be jumping back into the Deadpool character along with his new Deadpool 2 X-Force castmates in an X-Force movie to be written and directed by Drew Goddard.
More: Deadpool 2 Director on Creating a Launching Pad For X-Force
Source: Forbes
- Deadpool 2 Release Date: 2018-05-18 X-Men: Dark Phoenix Release Date: 2019-06-07 New Mutants Release Date: 2020-08-28