Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively are 1st married couple to top US box office in 34 years | Details here

In the box-office face-off between Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, both emerged victorious. Reynolds’ ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ continued its dominant run as the top film in North American theatres for the third consecutive week, earning $54.2 million, and has now surpassed $1 billion worldwide.

Lively’s romance drama It Ends With Us exceeded expectations with a strong $50 million debut, closely trailing Reynolds' film.

The weekend’s box office resembled a family version of Barbenheimer, showcasing how two very different movies can succeed through counterprogramming, this time led by one of Hollywood’s most famous couples. This dynamic is reminiscent of 1990, when Bruce Willis’ Die Hard 2 and Demi Moore’s Ghost held the top two spots.

Willis and Moore starred together in three films: Mortal Thoughts (1991), Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996), and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003).

In comparison, Lively and Reynolds have collaborated on Green Lantern (2011) and IF (2024).

However, the weekend also saw a significant flop with Borderlands, a $120-million videogame adaptation directed by Eli Roth. It debuted poorly with $8.8 million and received a dismal 10% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it a contender for one of the year's worst films.

Deadpool & Wolverine, starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Shawn Levy, continues to break box-office records, becoming only the second R-rated film to reach $1 billion, following 2019's Joker. In just three weeks, it’s among Marvel’s top earners, trailing only Disney’s Inside Out 2 ($1.6 billion) for 2024 releases.

Blake Lively, who makes a cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine, stars in and produced It Ends With Us. Adapted from Colleen Hoover’s bestseller, it features Lively as Lily Bloom, a florist caught between two loves. With a modest $25 million budget, the film is set for a strong profit and has an A- CinemaScore. Lively’s film exceeded opening-weekend predictions, aided by Reynolds’ promotional efforts.

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