For the first time since its release on July 26, Deadpool & Wolverine did not finish at No. 1 at the box office last weekend. Instead, it fell to No. 2 with $29 million, which brings its domestic take to $545.8 million. When combined with its worldwide grosses, Deadpool & Wolverine has now claimed the record for an R-rated film with $1.08 billion. The previous record holder was director Todd Phillips’ 2019 Joker movie. Phillips’ acknowledged the passing of the torch with a post on Instagram, and he couldn’t resist making a joke about it.
“Have to tip my hat to [Ryan Reynolds] and [Shawn Levy] for this absolute steam roller of a movie. We knew it was gonna be big, but this is too much. Congrats to everyone involved!!”
Phillips also included a pic of Deadpool dancing on the stairs featured in Joker, a nod to the memorable scene from the film where Joaquin Phoenix dances down them. And while Joker’s record has fallen, Phillips may get a chance to reach those heights again this fall when Joker: Folie à Deux hits theaters less than two months from now.
Phoenix is reprising his role as Arthur Fleck/Joker, with Lady Gaga joining the cast as Harley Quinn. The film is expected to show Joker and Harley’s romance, with some musical interludes as well. But it’s too soon to say if fans will respond to the sequel the same way they did for the first Joker. We’ll have to wait until October 2 to find out.
