Deadpool 2 represents this week’s headline addition to Long Range Tracking. The anticipated sequel is slated to hit North American theaters on May 18, alongside Open Road’s Show Dogs and Paramount’s Book Club.

Two years ago, the first Deadpool shattered February box office records (recently eclipsed by Black Panther) when it wowed the industry with a $132 million three-day weekend bow. Still the best R-rated launch ever — just ahead of It‘s $123.4 million last September — Deadpool marked a turning point for the superhero genre with its raunchy, self-referential, fourth-wall-breaking comedy from star Ryan Reynolds. The film’s pre-release social marketing campaign became a benchmark on how to engage audiences with a relatively unknown character outside the core fan base.

Can Fox, Reynolds, and team do it again?

It’s an unfair question, because the inevitable answer is no — not in the same way, at least, and it doesn’t really need to. After a massive $363 million domestic/$783 million global run, the cat is out of the proverbial bag. Deadpool is now an established brand, and has no significant box office comparisons beyond itself due to its unique nature as an R-rated tentpole comic book sequel.

The first film was a breath of fresh air in the realm of superheroes, and had a double holiday weekend (Valentine’s Day and Presidents Day) to compound opening weekend interest among the masses. That kind of synergy won’t be duplicated on a non-holiday weekend in May, particularly landing on the fourth weekend of Avengers: Infinity War and coming just one week before Solo: A Star Wars Story. All three films will lean somewhat heavily toward male crowds aged 25 and up.

Nevertheless, strong social media sentiment culled from our Twitter and Facebook analyses indicates fans are pumped for the sequel — in large part due to Josh Brolin’s debut as Cable, one of the most popular villains from Marvel comic lore. While diminished returns are expected at the box office based on current models, early indicators still point toward another sure-fire commercial hit for Fox as their over-arching X-Men universe (of which Deadpool is technically part of) continues to expand. Should strong reviews follow as they did for the first title, forecasts could see additional gains in the weeks ahead.

Boxoffice’s first tracking for Deadpool 2 and the weekend’s fellow openers can be found below, in addition to various other updates.

8-Week Tracking: