'Deadpool' on Track for $90 Million Opening

“Deadpool” is looking to gross $90 million its four-day debut weekend, according to early Friday estimates.

After opening to a record $12.7 million on Thursday night, breaking two records for the largest February preview ever, as well as the largest R-rated Thursday preview ever, analysts are now predicting for Ryan Reynolds‘ superhero film to make a lot more than initially projected, which ranged from $65 million to $70 million.

“$90 million is a definite possibility,” Exhibitor Relations senior analyst Jeff Bock told TheWrap.

Also Read: 'Deadpool' Launches With Record $12.7 Million at Thursday Box Office

The movie, co-starring Morena Baccarin and Ed Skrein, was initially tracking for $35 million, but Fox’s stellar marketing campaign and positive word of mouth after a surprise screening boosted its estimates.

According to a Fandango spokesperson, “Deadpool” is also on track to break Fandango’s record for the top opening weekend ticket sales for a February release. That record was previously held by “Fifty Shades of Grey,” which went on to gross $93 million over the four-day Valentine’s Day weekend.

This comes after “Deadpool” also blitzed a bunch of opening records in its debut at the overseas box office and rung up $14 million, such as delivering the best single-day debut for an R-rated Fox movie ever in the U.K. ($3.4 million).

See Video: Betty White Reviews 'Deadpool': Ryan Reynolds Is 'So F--ing Handsome'

However, Valentine’s Day might put a halt to “Deadpool’s” rising opening weekend estimates, according to Bock.

“Are females going to go see that film?” he said. “Sunday is going to be a bit of a mystery, because there are two other films that are better candidates.”

Ben Stiller‘s “Zoolander No. 2” and Rebel Wilson‘s comedy “How To Be Single” are the two other movies opening this weekend, tracking for mid- to high-$20 million and mid-$20 million, respectively.

“People grew tired of the same old same old [superhero movie], so this is pretty cool to see,” added Bock. “Will this change the future of R-rated comic book adaptation? Most definitely.”

See Fandango’s ultimate “Deadpool” trailer below.

Beyond Deadpool: 10 More Superheroes Who Deserve R-Rated Movies (Photos)

Batman

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Daredevil

Marvel and Netflix have rescued Daredevil's legacy from the Affleck era and seem to be moving in this direction already. All that's left would be to transfer Charlie Cox's blind vigilante to the big screen.
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Wolverine

With Fox recasting many of the X-Men for younger stars, Wolverine may be due for a facelift soon. Hopefully, that means an edgier film that truly shows what Logan is: an animal living amongst us.
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Cassandra Cain

"Jessica Jones" has shown that a female superhero can not only kick ass, but can be tortured and dark. Cain's backstory is frightening -- she's the daughter of two assassins who abused her as a child in order to mold her into the world's deadliest assassin. She served for a time as Batgirl before traveling to Asia to find and kill her parents. Not a PG kind of story.
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Punisher

Yes, the Punisher has already gotten a R-rated film, but it never felt like it's been done right. Again, it looks like Netflix is moving in the right direction. Maybe Jon Bernthal will headline his own film someday.
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Spawn

Though a cult-classic film came out in 1997, its overall campiness and cheap special effects prevented Spawn from catching on. We'd love a new, grown-up take on the story of an ex-assassin who was murdered before selling his soul to the devil to come back.
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Starfire

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The Boys

When superheroes get reckless and endanger the world, the government sends in...The Boys. They're a group of super-enforcers who keep heroes in line. There was talk in the past about an Adam McKay adaptation, but that was before he turned his attention to real global disasters with "The Big Short."
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Lobo

A villain who morphed into an anti-hero, the ultra-violent Lobo was intended to be an indictment of Marvel's Punisher and Wolverine. However, his popularity shot through the roof, and he even became Stan Lee's favorite DC character. A planned film adaptation starring Dwayne Johnson has been indefinitely delayed.
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X-Force

Essentially a more militant and aggressive form of the X-Men team, X-Force could lead the new Fox films in a grittier direction. With the introduction of Psylocke and the recasting of key X-Men, many pieces of an original X-Force team should be in place after "X-Men: Apocalypse."
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