Page 29 - Aruba Today
P. 29
PEOPLE & ARTS A29
Monday 15 February 2016
Big ‘Deadpool’ debut annihilates ‘Fifty Shades’ record, more
LINDSEY BAHR a superhero redemption This image released by Twentieth Century Fox shows Ryan Reyonlds in a scene from the film,
AP Film Writer story for Reynolds whose “Deadpool.”
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The costly “Green Lantern”
R-rated “Deadpool” has adaptation disappointed Associated Press
taken the box office by audiences and at the box
storm, annihilating records office in 2011.
with an eye-popping $135 Coming in a distant second
million from its first three was last weekend’s No.
days in theaters, accord- 1 film “Kung Fu Panda 3”
ing to comScore estimates with $19.7 million, which fell
Sunday. only 7 percent. The Dream-
The Fox film, which stars Works Animation film has
Ryan Reynolds as the foul- earned $93.9 million in just
mouthed superhero, eas- three weeks in theaters.
ily trounced last year’s In third place, the R-rated
record-setting $85.2 mil- Dakota Johnson and Rebel
lion February debut of the Wilson rom-com “How to
erotic drama “Fifty Shades Be Single” didn’t make any
of Grey.” It also became big waves with its $18.8 mil-
the biggest R-rated open- lion out of the gates. The
ing ever, surpassing “The Warner Bros. film cost $38
Matrix Reloaded,” which million to produce and
opened to $91.8 million in provided some counter
May of 2003. programming to the hyper
Analysts are predicting that violent “Deadpool.”
the Tim Miller-directed film, The dismally reviewed Ben
which cost a mere $58 mil- Stiller comedy “Zoolander
lion to produce, could go 2,” meanwhile, debuted in
on to make $150 million fourth place to only $15.7
by the end of the holiday million. The Paramount film,
weekend. As recently as which Stiller directed, cost
Thursday, “Deadpool” was around $50 million to make.
expected to pull in only The first film, “Zoolander,”
$80 million across the three opened in 2001, just weeks
days, after the Sept. 11 attacks,
but the Marvel comic, of- to a meek $15.5 million and
ten a best-seller, proved its went on to gross only $45.2
popular appeal and then million in North America.
some — and it didn’t have It found a second life on
to compromise with a PG- home video, though and
13 rating either. has become a quotable
“This movie is the very defi- cultural staple. Audiences
nition of an expectation- seem less enthusiastic this
buster. Nobody saw this time around, though.
coming.” said Paul Der- Dergarabedian thinks that
garabedian, comScore’s both “How to Be Single”
senior media analyst. “It and “Zoolander 2” could
doesn’t feel like a cookie- see a healthy uptick from
cutter superhero movie. It the Valentine’s Day crowd
feels like something unique. Sunday.
You’ve got to sometimes But overall, the box office
take risks and go against is healthy, up an estimated
conventional wisdom to 3.2 percent from last year
come out a winner.” and it’s all thanks to the
IMAX screens accounted snarky, fourth-wall-busting
for an estimated $16.8 mil- “Deadpool” and its historic
lion of “Deadpool’s” total. debut.
The film, notably, was not “These are summer num-
released in 3D. bers,” Dergarabedian said.
The debut is also a bit of “It’s summer in February.”q
