Much like the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts featured prominently in the Vancouver-shot superhero film Deadpool, box office records were smashed to pieces over the weekend thanks to the made-in-B.C. flick.
The violent and raunchy action movie grossed US$135 million at the North American box office across three days following its Feb. 12 debut, according to Box Office Mojo.
That鈥檚 the largest opening ever for a film released by 20th Century Fox. It also broke records for the largest opening for an R-rated film, as well as for a movie released in February and a film from a first-time director (Tim Miller).
The enormous haul came as audiences in the U.S. enjoyed the Presidents鈥� Day long weekend.
But Canadians had reason to be patriotic, too.
麻豆传媒映画actor Ryan Reynolds stars as the title character of Deadpool, while familiar landmarks such as Chinatown, the aforementioned viaducts and the No. 5 Orange strip club all featured prominently throughout.
鈥淚t鈥檚 tremendous news, and all those 2,000 or so people who were involved as cast, crew and extras in that [film] should be proud of their work,鈥� said Creative BC CEO Prem Gill, whose provincial agency is responsible for promoting the local film industry.
A report from Canada鈥檚 Motion Picture Association estimated the production spent a total of $40 million in B.C., including $19 million in wages on the 2,000 local workers involved.
@reporton
