NEW YORK -- In the Ryan Reynolds-Blake Lively box-office showdown, both husband and wife came out winners.

Reynolds’ Marvel Studios blockbuster “Deadpool & Wolverine” continued to dominate North American box offices for a third consecutive week, generating $54.2 million in ticket sales as per studio estimates on Sunday. Globally, it has now exceeded $1 billion in earnings. “Deadpool & Wolverine,” however, was closely trailed by “It Ends With Us,” the romantic drama featuring Lively, which exceeded forecasts with a remarkable $50 million opening weekend.

The films created a unique, family-oriented version of “Barbenheimer,” where two distinct movies were successful partly due to their contrasting themes. This time, however, the films featured one of Hollywood's most iconic couples. The films' dual release wasn't completely unheard of. In 1990, Bruce Willis' “Die Hard 2” topped the box office while Demi Moore’s “Ghost” came in second.

The weekend also saw a big-budget box office disappointment. “Borderlands,” the long-awaited $120-million video game adaptation directed by Eli Roth, opened with a meager $8.8 million for Lionsgate. The film, starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart and Jack Black, was filmed back in 2021. After delays and re-shoots, it finally hit theaters, arriving with little fanfare; it earned a dismal 10% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and appears destined to be considered one of the worst movies of the year.

In the meantime, the film "Deadpool & Wolverine," featuring Hugh Jackman, continued its impressive run at the box office. Directed by Shawn Levy, this film is only the second R-rated movie to achieve the milestone of $1 billion in revenue, following 2019’s "Joker." Within three weeks of its release, it has already become one of the most successful Marvel films and is only surpassed by Disney’s other major release of 2024, "Inside Out" (with $1.6 billion worldwide), in terms of earnings this year.

Lively has a brief appearance in “Deadpool & Wolverine” but she is both the lead actress and producer of “It Ends With Us.” Based on the popular romantic novel by Colleen Hoover, Lively plays the role of Lily Bloom, a Boston florist who is caught between two men, one from her current life (Justin Baldoni, who also directed the film) and another who was her first love (Brandon Sklenar).

The production budget for "It Ends With Us" was a reasonable $25 million, meaning that co-financiers Columbia Pictures and Wayfarer Studios are likely to see a substantial return on their investment. Similar to another film based on a book that targeted a female audience, “Where the Crawdads Sing,” which was also released by Sony during the summer, "It Ends With Us" has the potential to perform well during the typically slower August box office season. Audience members gave the film an A- CinemaScore.

Reynolds and Lively sometimes promoted the connection between their films. Earlier this week, Reynolds shared a video of himself asking Sklenar publicity questions. The timing was advantageous for Lively, as her movie exceeded initial opening-weekend projections.

Tilman Singer's German Alps-set horror film "Cuckoo", distributed by Neon, debuted with $3 million on 1,503 screens. It stars Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens.

Projected ticket revenue for Friday to Sunday at U.S. and Canadian cinemas, as reported by Comscore. Official domestic figures will be made available on Monday.

1. “Deadpool and Wolverine,” $54.2 million.

2. "It Ends With Us" is a massive success, generating $50 million in revenue.

3. "Tornadoes," $15 million.

4. "Borderlands", $8.8 million.

5. "Minions: The Rise of Gru," $8 million.

6. "Snare", $6.7 million.

7. "Inside Out 2", $5 million.

8. "Harold and the Purple Crayon" earned $3.1 million in revenue.

9. "Clockwork", $3 million.

10. "Spindly Legs", $2 million.