Will 'Logan' Be 2017's Biggest Movie So Far?

The young year has already seen some big movie openings, but this weekend is likely to see the biggest movie debut to date. Unless something goes terribly wrong for Logan, the superhero flick will put up the biggest first-weekend numbers of 2017 so far.

The most bullish observers think that Logan could earn more than $70 million this weekend. Less optimistic experts and the movie's studio itself think the take will be closer to $65 million. Either figure would allow the movie to take the title of top opening weekend of the year.

Right now, the title belongs to The Lego Batman Movie, which earned $53 million over its first weekend. Second place is held by Fifty Shades Darker, which brought in $46.7 million, and third place goes to Split, which earned $40 million.

The biggest question is whether Logan's R rating will limit its box-office success. Last year, Deadpool earned $132 million in its opening weekend despite (or maybe because of) its R rating, and it went on to become the sixth-biggest movie of 2016.

Deadpool, however, was undeniably buoyed by its raunchy, irreverent humor, and Logan is, by all accounts, a much darker movie that gets its R rating almost entirely because of its violence.