Ticket Sale
Fandango announced that ticket pre-sales for the film were the best of 2024, marking a franchise record and the highest for an R-rated film on their site. AMC Theatres reported that 200,000 first-day tickets were sold, setting a new record for any R-rated movie at their chain. According to The Hollywood Reporter, first-day ticket sales likely amounted to around $8–9 million, leading to projections that the film’s debut would surpass $100 million, a milestone no other 2024 release had achieved by late May.
Box Office Projections
The Quorum, which forecasts box office projections up to six weeks ahead of release, predicted an opening between $200–239 million, calling these estimates conservative and suggesting the film could perform even better. Deadline Hollywood highlighted that no R-rated film had ever opened domestically above $200 million, with the record held by the first Deadpool at $132.4 million.
Three weeks before release, various tracking services projected an opening between $160–165 million, still a record for an R-rated film and the best for a 2024 release. Deadline Hollywood mentioned that Disney expected an opening in this range, supported by $19 million in presale tickets. The Quorum remained confident in its $200+ million projection. In the week leading up to the film’s release, Deadline Hollywood projected a global opening between $340–360 million, a significant increase from earlier predictions. This upward revision considered the substantial walk-up business from Latino and Hispanic viewers, a demographic that had greatly influenced box office successes that summer. These higher projections included estimated contributions from this demographic and the potential appeal to a younger audience.
By Friday, July 19, ticket pre-sales in the United States and Canada had reached $35 million, reflecting the film’s strong anticipation. The combination of robust presales and positive demographic trends led industry analysts to predict a record-breaking performance for an R-rated film, both domestically and internationally.
Critical Review
Rotten Tomatoes reports that 81% of 194 critic reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The consensus highlights Ryan Reynolds’ and Hugh Jackman’s performances, describing the film as “an irreverent romp with a surprisingly soft spot for a bygone era of superhero movies.” Metacritic’s weighted average score is 56 out of 100 from 50 critics, reflecting “mixed or average” reviews.
