Hugh Jackman might be hanging up the adamantium claws after Logan, but at least he’s going to go out in style. James Mangold’s threequel is riding high off the back of phenomenal reviews and extremely positive word of mouth, which means 20th Century Fox can expect to see some impressive numbers at the box office this weekend. How impressive, you ask? Well, how does $170 million sound?
That’s right, Deadline is reporting that a massive opening for Wolvie’s final outing is expected, and really, why wouldn’t it be? The film is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and is being hailed by many as the greatest comic book movie of all-time. That’s high praise, indeed, but apparently it really is something quite special and as such, there’s no reason to think that it’s not going to do gangbusters at the box office.
In fact, Deadline notes that the worldwide gross may even go higher than $170 million, with some estimates placing it at $200 million, which would make it the third highest opening weekend worldwide within the franchise, sitting behind only Deadpool ($264.7) and X-Men: First Class ($262.9). Pretty good, eh? Especially given that it’s an R-rated affair. Not only that, but without the “X-Men” prefix in the title, there will undoubtedly be some moviegoers who don’t even realize that the film is part of the mutant franchise, which may hurt its box office performance just slightly. At least in the first week.
Still, there’s more than enough interest in Logan to ensure that it rakes in the dough for Fox and sends Wolverine off on a high note. Make no mistake about it, this is going to be a movie that gets people talking, and has them talking for a long time to come, and the box office numbers will most definitely reflect that.