Superhero movie “Deadpool” dominated the North American box office on its debut weekend, taking in a record breaking $152 million and leaving its competitors in the dust, industry estimates showed Tuesday.
Starring Ryan Reynolds as a Marvel Comics character, the film’s blow out reception in theaters propelled it to the biggest-ever February and R-rated debut, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore.
The figure included box office receipts for Monday, which was a public holiday in the United States.
Far behind in second place was “Kung Fu Panda 3” — Dreamworks’ computer- animated comedy that follows the adventures of Po as he evolves from martial arts student to teacher — which took in $25.9 million. Featuring the voices of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman and Angelina Jolie, it has garnered $100 million since its release.
Also making its debut — in third place — was “How To Be Single,” a comedy about solo life set in New York City starring Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson and Leslie Mann.
It saw $19.9 million in ticket sales over Valentine’s Day weekend.
Fourth place went to fellow new release “Zoolander 2,” which snagged $15.9 million.
Starring and directed and co-written by Ben Stiller, the comedy that dips into the fashion world also features Penelope Cruz and Owen Wilson.
Coming in fifth was “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” only the third film ever to reach the $2 billion mark in global ticket sales, which took in $7.6 million over the weekend.
