Set to rule the summer box office is "Deadpool & Wolverine". Three weeks from release, the much awaited Disney and Marvel sequel—which combines Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool and Hugh Jackman's Wolverine—is expected to open with an amazing $160 million to $165 million.

Though encouraging, these early projections could increase as the studio intensues its marketing initiatives. Although exact ticket sales this far ahead is still difficult to forecast, there is clearly fan interest.

Should "Deadpool & Wolverine" live up to these expectations, it will top opening for 2024 and establish a new record for R-rated pictures. For Marvel, which has lately seen a few box office letdowns with films like "The Eternals," "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," and "The Marvels," this success would be much-needed. A great performance in this movie could help the MCU and the superhero genre to regain credibility.

Ryan Reynolds finds especially great relevance in this movie. Driven by Deadpool, his performance has been a huge smash since the $132.4 million domestic opening of the first movie in 2016 and then the $125.5 million premiere of its sequel in 2018.

Following Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019, "Deadpool & Wolverine" directed, produced, and co-written by Shawn Levy marks the first time these characters appear in the MCU. Fans eager to see how these iconic characters would be entwined into the greater MCU story are much looking forward to the movie's inclusion into Marvel's official series.