'Deadpool' Bedevils 'Risen,' 'The Witch' With $55M at Weekend Box Office

Deadpool easily won the battle for heaven and earth at the North American box office in its second outing, earning a sizeable $55 million from 3,277 theaters to trounce Biblical resurrection tale Risen and the demonic-laced The Witch.

On Saturday, Ryan Reynolds’ audacious superhero movie raced past the $200 million mark in North America, its ninth day in release and faster than any R-rated title in history. Through Sunday, the film’s domestic gross is $235.4 million, while it’s almost cleared $500 million globally in a massive victory for Reynolds and Fox.

Overseas, Deadpool earned $85 million in its second outing for a foreign total of $256.5 million and worldwide haul of $491.9 million. The movie is now destined to become the top-R rated title in history, eclipsing The Passion of the Christ ($611.9 million), not accounting for inflation. Domestically, it’s already passed up Fifty Shades of Grey ($166.2 million). Fifty Shades, released a year ago, grossed $571 million globally.

“Deadpool has become a cultural phenomenon with all audiences that is resonating across the globe,” said Fox domestic distribution chief Chris Aronson.