The Wolverine Slashes Competition at the Box Office

The Wolverine is slashing its way to the top of the box office this weekend as it made $21 million on Friday. The $120 million film is now on track to make $56 million for the weekend, which would be slightly disappointing for 20th Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOXA), having anticipated $65 million for the film’s opening weekend as the only major new release.

The Wolverine, an X-Men spinoff film, stars Hugh Jackman in the title role and is directed by James Mangold. While Fox had hoped for a $65 million opening, the film is by no means a bomb and should continue to see huge business overseas where the series has been a consistent performer.

Fox had believed that the film would make $65 million after using their earlier summer film World War Z as a model — that film ended up surprising both critically and in terms of box office after a rough production, filled with strife.

The previous Wolverine-centric film, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, grossed over $370 million worldwide despite being universally panned by critics. The Wolverine, however, has gotten solid reviews and a strong A-minus CinemaScore, seemingly giving the film all the ammunition to have an extended run in summer theaters.