'Deadpool 2' ends Avengers' box-office reign, rakes in $125M

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Deadpool and his foul-mouthed crew of misfits and malcontents have taken down the Avengers.

Fox's "Deadpool 2" brought in $125 million in its opening weekend and ended the three-week reign of Disney's "Avengers: Infinity War" at the top of the North American box office, according to studio estimates Sunday.

"Deadpool 2," with Ryan Reynolds returning as the title character and co-writing this time, fell somewhat short of the $130 million the studio predicted and the $132.4 million that its predecessor earned two years ago.

But the total still made for the second-highest opening weekend ever for an R-rated movie, and signaled that R-rated superhero films could become franchises and not just one-off successes.

The Avengers are hardly hurting. Disney and Marvel's "Avengers: Infinity War" brought in an estimated $29 million in North America for a four-week take of $595 million, making it the No. 8 domestic release of all time.

In a whole different corner of the cinematic universe, "Book Club" was third with a $12.5 million weekend that exceeded expectations.

It was a successful piece of counter-programming for Paramount, which used the modestly budgeted comedy starring Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton and Candice Bergen to find older audiences and women while "Deadpool 2" dwelled overwhelmingly on young men.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Deadpool 2," $125 million.

2."Avengers: Infinity War," $28.6 million.

3. "Book Club," $12.5 million.

4. "Life of the Party," $7.7 million.

5. "Breaking In," $6.4 million.

6. "Show Dogs," $6 million.

7. "Overboard," $4.7 million.

8. "A Quiet Place," $4 million.

9. "Rampage," $1.5 million.

10. "I Feel Pretty," $1.2 million.

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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.