Wesley Snipes Thought It Was Over for His Blade. Then Ryan Reynolds Called

Though the Marvel Cinematic Universe is constantly growing in theaters and on Disney+ subscribers’ streaming platforms, some films stand out as fan favorites. For example, Deadpool & Wolverine has performed admirably in theaters and paid tribute to 20th Century Fox on behalf of individuals who have dedicated years to watching all the Marvel films consecutively. There were many surprise cameos in the film, one of which being Wesley Snipes reprising his role as Blade. Up until Ryan Reynolds called, he believed he was done with the role.

There were a lot of unexpected cameos in Deadpool 3, which added to the fun of watching the film. This features Channing Tatum’s first appearance as Gambit, the return of Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, Dafne Keen’s X-23, and Wesley Snipes’ Blade. The latter expressed to EW how shocked he was to finally reprise the role of vampire hero on his comeback. He provided some history by stating:

We have had a few fascinating chats over the years, some of which have been rather meaningful and others not. It is okay that I kind of lived like I was moving on from them. I completed three of them, and I was pleased with how they came out. Not too horrible… We therefore on to other, more significant, and improved things.

Some points were raised. Leading a superhero trilogy is an impressive feat, particularly when you consider that the Blade films were made before shared universes such as the MCU and DCU were taken into consideration by the studios. Therefore, Snipes could have abandoned that persona knowing he would undoubtedly succeed in the task at hand.

The possibility of Snipes playing his iconic role again seemed even less likely after Mahershal Ali was announced as the MCU’s Blade. Snipes has insisted that he is the true Blade, and in Deadpool & Wolverine, he even got to make that claim. In the same interview, he described the experience of receiving a call regarding the MCU threequel from Ryan Reynolds, providing:

I did not believe it could be done. I was skeptical that we could pull it off. Disney seemed interested in it, in my opinion, especially because Mahershala was cast in the next version. I did not think Marvel was onto it. I did not think it made sense, but when you unexpectedly receive a call from Ryan Reynolds 20 years later, you must answer it. Let us investigate this further. He conveyed the concept to me. They said, “Yes,” “It is a go,” and “If you’re in, we’re in.” Here we are.

Fans of Snipes’ trilogy was treated to a nostalgic treat as Blade, where he excelled once more. Fortunately, Ryan Reynolds appeared in Blade: Trilogy, the third installment, which probably made the agreement for his comeback easier to reach.

Shawn Levy’s highly regarded trilogy seemed, in many respects, to be honoring all the work produced at 20th Century Fox before Disney bought the company and its assets. In addition to all the cameos, BTS footage from Blade, X-Men, Daredevil, and other projects was incorporated in the credits for Deadpool & Wolverine.

Deadpool And Wolverine Just Had One of Marvel’s Biggest Opening Weekends at The Box Office, Breaking Records in The Process

Deadpool & Wolverine, directed by Shawn Levy, was always a sure thing to take home the top spot at the box office on opening weekend. Not only does it happen to be the only MCU film being released in 2024, but Marvel Studios has never had a blockbuster open in second place. The only significant uncertainty surrounding the movie was its ceiling: could it outperform the franchise’s biggest releases considering that it had an R-rating from the MPA?

As it happens, the response is unquestionably “yes.” Not only did the movie have an amazing, industry-first premiere, but it also broke MCU records. Check out the full Top 10 below and join me after for analysis.

Deadpool & Wolverine Had the Greatest R-Rated Film Opening Weekend Ever

For a considerable amount of time now, the Deadpool franchise has held all the records for R-rated opening weekends. The highest grossing film of 2016 was set by Tim Miller’s Deadpool, which brought in $132.4 million in its first three days of release. Deadpool 2, directed by David Leitch, came in second place with $125.7 million, barely missing out on Andy Muschietti’s 2017 film IT, which opened with $123.4 million.

With $205 million in ticket sales, Deadpool and Wolverine easily broke those previous records, as the figure above (which uses data from The Numbers) illustrates. The new movie is the only one to earn more than $200 million in its first weekend of release since theaters closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic (the other being Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: No Way Home, which made $260.1 million back in December 2021). It is also, undoubtedly, the biggest premiere of 2024.

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The last few months have seen a lot of build-ups surrounding Deadpool & Wolverine, with many speculating that it would be the film that would turn around Marvel Studios’ recent downward spiral. Although reviews for the film were somewhat mixed in the lead-up to its release, audiences seem to be enjoying it, as seen by the “A” rating it received from Cinema Score surveys. Every indication suggests that the summer blockbuster will last well into the fall.

Deadpool and Wolverine’s first-week box office triumph is noteworthy not only considering the post-2021 box office landscape, but also considering the film’s rapid progress over the course of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 16-year history. The superhero comedy, which brought in $205 million, is currently the fifth highest-grossing film in the franchise’s history. It comes in just behind Joss Whedon’s The Avengers ($207.4 million) and ahead of Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther ($202 million). It is obvious that the “Restricted” rating did not prevent people from having a good time, and considering its novelty in the traditionally family-friendly canon, it might have even been a special draw.

I have just talked about Deadpool & Wolverine’s domestic performance up to this point, but the situation really gets better when foreign ticket sales are factored in. The film has made $233.3 million in overseas sales thus far, bringing its total earnings to $438.3 million. It has outgrossed all three of the 2021 releases in the franchise: Joe Johnston’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Louis Leterrier’s the Incredible Hulk, and Nia da Costa’s The Marvels. In just a few short days, it has already become the 28th biggest film in the MCU canon.

In terms of global records for R-rated films, Deadpool and Wolverine are already in the Top 30, and they will rise quickly. As of right now, Todd Phillips’ Joker is the only R-rated film to have generated over $1 billion worldwide. However, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which ended its global theatrical run last year with $977 million, had just surpassed Joker to take second place.

With a tiny weekend-to-weekend dip, the movie is predicted to reoccur at the top of the box office. Domestically, it has a strong possibility of remaining in the Top 5 for the entire month of August.

Twisters Has a Difficult Second Weekend at The Box Office Due to The Abrupt Shift in The Spotlight

This year features some noteworthy titles that coexist in the marketplace alongside other noteworthy titles, as I mentioned in my box office column last week. The popularity of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two and Mike Mitchell’s Kung Fu Panda 4 was demonstrated last month when Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah’s Bad Boys: Ride or Die and Kelsey Mann’s Inside Out 2 opened on consecutive weekends.

Unfortunately, Lee Isaac Chung’s Twisters and Deadpool & Wolverine are not in a similar scenario. The target demographics for the two titles appear to overlap a little too much, therefore the latter’s profits have decreased because of the former’s success.

The major movie that was all the rage last Sunday was Twisters, which made $81.3 million in its first three days of release. However, the film has since faded from the spotlight, with ticket sales declining by 57 percent from weekend to weekend. The disaster movie, which starred Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glenn Powell, brought in an additional $35.3 million domestically, bringing its total revenue from the US and Canada to $154.9 million. With $221.2 million in total revenue produced worldwide to far, the movie is now ranked fifteenth in 2024.

As previously mentioned, Deadpool and Wolverine are expected to return to the top of the box office the following week. However, M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap, starring Josh Hartnett, and Carlos Saldanha’s Harold and the Purple Crayon, starring Zachary Levi, are set to go wide, and are expected to cause some confusion in the Top 10. See how everything plays out by returning to Cinema Blend on Sunday, and discover all the movies that will be released in theaters and on streaming services in the coming weeks and months by visiting our 2024 Movie Release Calendar.