‘Deadpool’ to laugh off ‘Zoolander 2,’ ‘How to Be Single’ at box office

Profane Marvel antihero Deadpool is poised to wallop the competition at the multiplex, giving a boost to the box office over the Presidents Day weekend, which will “Deadpool,” a very R-rated twist on the superhero genre, could generate as much as $70 million in ticket sales through Monday in the U.S. and Canada, according to people who have seen pre-release audience surveys. Paramount Pictures’ “Zoolander 2” will also try to woo filmgoers over the holiday weekend and is expected end up with around $25 million through Monday. Comedy sequels have a mixed track record at the box office, with flops like “Hot Tub Time Machine 2” and “Horrible Bosses 2.” Still, Paramount has been heavily marketing the picture with TV appearances and social media stunts, while trying to avoid the scorched-earth campaign that hampered “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.” For the female audience, New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer are releasing “How to Be Single,” an R-rated romantic comedy starring Dakota Johnson and Rebel Wilson. The film follows Moore, the liberal provocateur behind “Fahrenheit 9/11” and “Bowling for Columbine,” as he “invades” other countries to find solutions to America’s problems including those in education, criminal justice and healthcare.