‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ now has the 6th biggest opening weekend of all time

By LINDSEY BAHR The Associated Press

This image released by 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios shows Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool/Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine/Logan in a scene from "Deadpool & Wolverine." (20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios via AP)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Jay Maidment]

“Deadpool & Wolverine” had a better Sunday than anticipated. The comic book film earned $211 million in its first weekend in North American theaters, Disney said Monday.

That’s $6 million more than was estimated on Sunday, putting “Deadpool & Wolverine” in a different league. It had already broken the record for an R-rated movie. But the Shawn Levy-directed film starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman now boasts the sixth highest opening weekend of all time, surpassing “Jurassic World” which opened to $208.8 million in 2015.

The Walt Disney Co. can now claim five of the six biggest box office openings ever, not accounting for inflation, including two “Avengers” movies, “Endgame” and “Infinity War,” and two “Star Wars” films, “The Force Awakens” and “The Last Jedi.” The only outlier is the second-place holder “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which was released by Sony and produced by Marvel Studios.

“Deadpool & Wolverine’s” overperformance also boosted its global number to $444.3 million, surpassing “Avatar: The Way of Water.”