'Deadpool 2' Breaks Box Office Records for R-Rated Films and Comedy Sequels

While it wasn’t able to best its predecessor, Deadpool 2 made a killing at the weekend box office by dethroning Avengers: Infinity War and breaking another record for an R-rated movie.

Deadpool 2 earned $125 million on its opening weekend, as reported by Box Office Mojo. The sequel featuring the “Merc with the mouth” didn’t break the record for best opening for an R-rated movie, which is held by the first Deadpool (2016) at $132 million, but it was able to break the Friday record for a film with the R-rating with $53.3 million. Since it wasn’t able to break the original movie’s record, it actually set a new record for the highest-grossing comedy sequel.

It may not be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Deadpool 2’s jokes about the MCU, other X-Men movies, and even a joke at the expense of the DC Universe is part of the reason why critics loved the film. It currently has an 83 percent rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 234 reviews, which is the same rating Deadpool has with 306 reviews.

Infinity War took second place over the weekend with $28.6 million. The Avengers movie moved up to the fourth spot of all-time worldwide gross ticket sales with $1.8 billion, right behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Titanic, and Avatar. Rounding out the top five of the weekend box office is Book Club with $12.5 million, Life of the Party at $7.7 million, and Breaking In with $6.4 million in ticket sales.

Deadpool 2’s time at the top of the box office may be short-lived. On May 25, the newest Star Wars spinoff, Solo: A Star Wars Story, releases in theaters, although it hasn’t bowled over critics like other recent movies in the franchise.

When it comes to the post-credits scene, Deadpool 2 raised the ante with its long, but meta-filled sequence that followed the movie.