Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman wow comic-con with 'Deadpool & Wolverine' premiere

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman kicked off celebrations at the massive Comic-Con pop culture gathering on Thursday with a special screening of "Deadpool & Wolverine," their raunchy superhero mash-up movie anticipated to break box office records this weekend.

The Hollywood A-listers took the stage before an audience of 6,000 enthusiastic fans, many dressed as spandex-clad heroes and villains, who had won a lottery to attend the highly sought-after opening night event in San Diego, California.

The film unites two immensely popular characters from the Marvel superhero universe. Reynolds's foul-mouthed Deadpool joins forces with Jackman's rugged Wolverine, from the "X-Men" movies.

It is widely expected to be one of the year's top-grossing films.

"A 'Deadpool and Wolverine' movie is quite literally something that I feel like I've waited my whole life for," said Reynolds, before introducing a surprise screening of the entire movie.

"We've been around the world with this movie, but the icing on the cake is right here, right now," added Jackman.

Hitting theaters worldwide this weekend, "Deadpool & Wolverine" is poised to break box office records for R-rated films, which restrict children from attending without an adult.

Starring Ryan Reynolds as the anti-hero Deadpool, the film is known for its frequent "fourth wall" breaks, where Deadpool speaks directly to the audience, delivering sexually explicit jokes and sarcastically mocking the Marvel franchise and its studio, Disney.

Trade magazine Variety predicts that the film could gross as much as $200 million in North American theaters during its opening weekend alone.

The current record for R-rated films is held by the original "Deadpool," which earned $132 million in its first weekend in 2016, following a preview at Comic-Con.

"I remember making that movie for you," Reynolds told the die-hard superhero fans who make the pilgrimage each year to San Diego.

"And I remember how gratifying it was that everyone else liked it too."

One of the world's largest pop culture events, Comic-Con began five decades ago as a humble comic book-themed gathering in a hotel basement.

On Thursday, Chris Hemsworth participated in a panel for the animated prequel "Transformers One," while director Roland Emmerich promoted his provocative new drama set in Ancient Rome, "Those About To Die."

This marks a change from last year's edition, where Hollywood strikes prevented actors from attending and dampened fan interest.

This year, Comic-Con is anticipated to draw 135,000 attendees back to the southern Californian city.

On Saturday, Disney will host a highly anticipated Marvel presentation, expected to reveal extensive plans to reboot its blockbuster superhero films following recent notable missteps.

Marvel movies have dominated Hollywood and global box offices for years, with 2019's "Avengers: Endgame" briefly becoming the highest-grossing film of all time, earning over $2.79 billion.

In recent years, the franchise has seen more flops than hits, with fans lamenting over-complicated plotlines and the loss of beloved characters like Robert Downey Jr.'s "Iron Man."

The series faced further turmoil with domestic violence allegations against actor Jonathan Majors, who had been poised to become the major new supervillain across multiple films. Majors, who was convicted of assaulting his then-girlfriend, has been dropped by Marvel, though a replacement has not yet been announced.

This week, audiences will also get a first look at "Alien: Romulus," the latest installment in the long-running sci-fi saga that began with Ridley Scott's 1979 classic "Alien".

Disney's rival studio Warner will offer a glimpse at its Batman spinoff TV series "The Penguin," starring Colin Farrell.

Amazon's Prime Video will lift the lid on the second season of its "Lord of the Rings" television series, which aims to improve on the mixed reviews for its hugely expensive debut season two years ago.