‘Deadpool’ Continues to Dominate U.S. Box Office

Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool continues to dominate the U.S. box office with an impressive $55 million haul over its second weekend on release – more than the rest of the top five films put together.

The movie smashed this month’s records and became the sixth highest-grossing R-rated movie ever upon its release on February 12, and it has already made $235.4 million in the U.S.

Kung Fu Panda 3 has landed the second spot in its fourth week on release with $12.5 million, and biblical thriller Risen has surprised film experts by taking third place with $11.8 million.

Horror movie The Witch has conjured up $8.7 million for fourth and comedy How to Be Single rounds out the new top five.

Deadpool has been a labor of love for Reyonds, 39, who has been involved with the project for more than 10 years as it struggled to get the green light.

Once it finally got the go ahead, it required the actor to get physical, though he admits his body has started to get a little creaky these days.

Luckily a stunt double was on hand to help him out, but Ryan’s wife Blake Lively may not be fully comfortable with how many stunts the actor decided to do himself.

“Deadpool has a way of fighting that is as specific as the way he talks – it’s character work, even though you’re in that suit,” he explained to Britain’s Shortlist magazine. “It’s not me for all of it – we had a double who was in Cirque du Soleil and can defy gravity – but I did a bit more than my wife would have liked.”

Following the success of the movie, Reynolds recently confirmed to Chris Hewitt on the Empire magazine podcast, he had already begun working on a Deadpool sequel.

“We are on a script, we are well into a script,” he said.