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It has been a lean few years, and many (including us, at times) speculated we were looking at the long, slow death of cinema. It looked knocked out by the triple combo of COVID lockdowns, the strikes, and the streaming explosion.
Then came the news that, after just 19 days of release, Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out 2 passed the $1 billion mark worldwide. $469.3 million in North America and $545.5 million internationally took it to $1.015 billion and counting. This was on the back of Dune Part Two also doing a decent shift in theaters.
Hot on the heels of this was the news that Illumination and Universal Pictures’ Despicable Me 4 was tracking for a $200 million global haul in its opening weekend.
Now, the summer’s only Marvel release on the big screen is looking at an opening of around $160 million, according to NRG, Screen Engine, and others. This would make it the best opening this year for an R-rated movie and also place it ahead of the first Deadpool.
It is also ahead of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in pre-sales.
Deadpool & Wolverine is set to hit cinemas on July 25th.
So, signs of life? Is the cinema experience slowly getting back in the game now content is flowing?
