‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Crosses $600 Million, Leads Labor Day Box Office

“Deadpool & Wolverine” notched a major box office milestone, surpassing $600 million in domestic ticket sales. It’s one of 16 films in history to reach that benchmark.

The Marvel superhero sequel hit this achievement during the otherwise desolate Labor Day weekend, in which “Deadpool & Wolverine” ruled over the box office in its sixth outing. The R-rated film, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, collected $15.2 million over the weekend and an estimated $19.5 million from 3,630 theaters through Monday’s holiday. “Deadpool & Wolverine” has claimed the No. 1 spot for five out of the past six weekends and ranks as the second highest-grossing movie of the year with $603.8 million in North America and $1.25 billion globally.

Labor Day isn’t a holiday that’s known for bringing people to the movies, but this weekend was among the most sluggish of the year. Summer season ended with domestic revenues down 14.3% from 2023 and 26.6% from 2019, the last pre-COVID year, according to Comscore.

“A rather slow Labor Day weekend marks a quiet end to what turned out to be the comeback kid of summer seasons,” says senior Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “June and July delivered a monumental string of hits.”

Although several movies opened nationwide — the Dennis Quaid-led biopic “Reagan,” Sony and Blumhouse’s AI horror fable “Afraid,” Lionsgate’s R-rated crime thriller “1992″ and Roadside’s human trafficking drama “City of Dreams” among them — only one of those newcomers managed to crack the top five.

“Reagan” opened in fourth place with $7.4 million over the weekend and an estimated $9.2 million from 2,754 theaters through Monday. Critics hated the film (18% on Rotten Tomatoes), but audiences were fonder (“A” on CinemaScore), so there’s a chance that “Reagan” could stick around at the box office.

Sean McNamara (“Soul Surfer”) directed the movie, adapted from from Paul Kengor’s 2006 book “The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism.” Told through a conversation between former KGB agent Viktor Petrovich (Jon Voight) and upstart Russian politician Andrei Novikov (Alexey Sparrow), the film charts the life and time of Ronald Reagan from his childhood through his years as president of the United States. ShowBiz Direct, an independent distributor, is release the film.

“We are thrilled to be sitting in the the top 5 with our first movie in a competitive market over this holiday weekend,” said said former exhibition veteran Kevin Mitchell, president of the newly launched Showbiz Direct. “We expect the film will continue to grow in the weeks ahead especially in the South and Midwest.”

“Afraid,” a sci-fi horror story about revolutionary smart home AI that becomes too self aware for comfort, crash-landed in ninth place with $3.7 million over the weekend and an estimated $4.4 million from 3,003 theaters through Monday. Neither critics nor audiences liked the film — 26% on Rotten Tomatoes and “C+” on CinemaScore — which doesn’t bode well for word of mouth. Luckily, “Afraid” carries a lean $12 million production budget. So, any losses during its theatrical run won’t be too painful. Chris Weitz directed “Afraid,” co-starring John Cho and Katherine Waterston.

“1992″ opened at No. 14 with $1.3 million over the weekend and an estimated $1.65 million from 875 theaters through Monday. Tyrese Gibson and Scott Eastwood star in the film, about a shopkeeper who must save his son from an angry mob during the Los Angeles uprising after the Rodney King verdict.

Meanwhile, “City of Dreams” debuted in 19th place with $760,000 over the weekend and an estimated $990,000 from 770 screens through Monday. The film, written and directed by Mohit Ramchandani, tells the story of a young Mexican farmer who travels to L.A. with the promise of training at a soccer camp, only to realize he’s been sold to a sweatshop.

It’s clear how many people actually saw “City of Dreams” because the majority of ticket sales weren’t revenue in the traditional sense. In an unusual move, the filmmakers and John Devaney, founder of United Capital and Manor House Films, gave away $1 million in free tickets. Their donations were given to “individuals and groups, including anti-trafficking organizations, survivors, schools, churches, municipalities, and people who may otherwise not be able to afford to watch the film,” according to a press release.

Elsewhere, Bleecker Street’s sci-fi thriller “Slingshot” grossed $485,282 in its opening weekend and an estimated $572,763 from 845 screens for the four days. Casey Affleck stars as an astronaut struggling to maintain his grip on reality aboard a possibly fatally compromised mission to Saturn’s moon, Titan. 

Holdovers titles sci-fi thriller “Alien: Romulus,” romantic drama “It Ends With Us” and disaster epic “Twisters” rounded out the top five.

In second place, “Alien: Romulus” added $9.3 million over the weekend and an estimated $11.5 million from 3,120 venues in its third frame. So far, the latest chapter in Disney and 20th Century’s sci-fi horror saga has collected $91 million domestically and $283.5 million worldwide.

“It Ends With Us” remained at No. 3 as the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel brought in $7.4 million over the weekend and an estimated $9.5 million from 3,551 locations through Monday’s holiday. After four weekends of release, “It Ends With Us” has amassed a remarkable $135.8 million in North America and more than $240 million globally.

“Twisters” took fifth place with $7.1 million over the weekend and an estimated $8.7 million from 3,005 theaters through Monday. Universal’s storm-centric sequel, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos, has grossed $259.6 million domestically and $351 million worldwide after seven weeks on the big screen.

More to come…