'Deadpool' tops box office again with $55M

There's no stopping the "Merc with a Mouth."

Last week's box-office champ Deadpool pulverized the competition once again, snagging another $55 million in its second weekend, according to studio estimates from tracking firm comScore.

The raunchy comic-book film starring Ryan Reynolds as the wise-cracking superhero already has earned $235.4 million in the USA, making it it the sixth highest-grossing R-rated movie ever (The Passion of the Christ holds the record, with $370.8 million in 2004). Deadpoolalso has passed the box-office totals of other recent Marvel characters including Fantastic Four ($56.1 million), Ant-Man ($180.2 million) and X-Men: Days of Future Past ($233.9 million).

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"This is a movie that's on everyone's mind," says comScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian, who credits heavy news and social media attention for Deadpool's second-week success. "Everyone is trying to figure this movie out. I don't think anyone expected it to be a blockbuster of this magnitude. Any newcomer to even debut with $55 million in late February is a total winner."

Meanwhile, Jack Black's Kung Fu Panda 3 continued to show muscle, taking second place with $12.5 million in its fourth weekend ($117.1 million total). The animated comedy benefits from being the only family-targeted entry in the marketplace, although it trails its predecessors Kung Fu Panda ($215.4 million) and Kung Fu Panda 2 ($165.2 million) in overall box office.

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Two newcomers outperformed expectations in their first week out. Risen, which stars Joseph Fiennes as a Roman military officer investigating Jesus' death, started at No. 3 with $11.8 million. In fourth, Sundance Film Festival horror entry The Witch conjured $8.7 million. While Witch was the better reviewed of the two (88% positive reviews on aggregate site RottenTomatoes.com, compared with Risen's 59%), the biblical thriller was a bigger hit with audiences (earning 80% approval from moviegoers, well above Witch's 54%).

"Faith-based and horror genre films are always going to find an audience," Dergarabedian says. Made for a reported $1 million (The Witch) and $20 million (Risen), both movies are almost guaranteed to be profitable. "If you don't break the budget, you can always make your money back."

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Rounding out the top five, moviegoers continued to make a date with How to Be Single. The R-rated comedy starring Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson and Leslie Mann pulled $8.2 million in its second week ($31.8 million total).

Bowing at No. 6, Jesse Owens biopic Race (starring Stephan James) struggled to find its footing. With OK reviews (60% on Rotten Tomatoes), the historical drama brought in an older audience (76% were 25 or older) and managed just $7.3 million.

Final numbers are expected Monday.