UPDATE: The weekend actuals are in and Logan did even better than initially projected with an $88.3 million domestic bow, $240.8 million worldwide, making it the fourth-biggest R-rated opening weekend in history.
Back in 2000, 20th Century Fox essentially kickstarted the modern comic book movie age with
Bryan Singer's
X-Men, and nearly two decades later, they seem primed to redefine the genre once more with their highly ambitious R-rated superhero adventures, which so far, have paid off tenfold.
Their latest offering,
Logan, will mark longtime franchise star
Hugh Jackman's final performance as the fan-favorite Wolverine and with the numbers now in, it sounds like his
James Mangold-directed swan song is off to a phenomenal start, exceeding all early estimates with a massive
$85.3 million domestic debut and an
$152.5 million international launch for a worldwide sum of over
$237.8 million (on a production budget of just around $97 million), which makes it the biggest opener of the year so far.
The combination of widespread critical acclaim and an outstanding A- Cinemascore mixed in with a heavy dose of nostalgia certainly helped the film's cause this past weekend as it skyrocketed its way to the fifth-biggest R-rated opening weekend ever. Additionally, Logan now holds the record for biggest opening weekend in March for an R-rated film and fourth-biggest March opening overall.
In regards to the other X-Men films, Logan narrowly edged out
X-Men Origins: Wolverine to secure the biggest opening weekend for a Wolverine movie and became the fifth-highest opener for a film in the entire franchise.
The decision to utilize IMAX for one week only also paid off huge dividends as the film collected over $20.6 million worldwide from the premium format screens, which is the second-highest opening weekend ever for an R-rated film in IMAX, behind last year's
Deadpool.
Internationally, Logan finished #1 in 80 of 81 markets, pulling in $46.3 million from China, $11.4 million from the United Kingdom, $8.2 million from South Korea, $8.17 million from Brazil, and $7.1 million from Russia. Its total worldwide collection makes it Fox's third-biggest opening ever overseas, behind
X-Men: Days of Future Past and
Avatar.
Plus,
Hugh Jackman recently thanked fans with a heartfelt video, check it out below:
In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hide out on the Mexican border.
But Logan's attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are up-ended when a young mutant arrives, being pursued by dark forces.
Logan features:
Director: James Mangold
Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine
Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier/Professor X
Dafne Keen as Laura Kinney/X-23
Boyd Holbrook as Donald Pierce
Richard E. Grant as Zander Rice
Stephen Merchant as Caliban
Eriq La Salle as Will Munson
Elise Neal as Kathryn Munson
Quincy Fouse as Nate Munson
Doris Morgado as Maria
Elizabeth Rodriguez as Gabriela
David Kallaway as Danny Rhodes
Han Soto as Valet
Krzysztof Soszynski as Mohawk
Logan claws his way into theaters March 3