Deadpool vs. Wolverine becomes highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time

Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman and Shawn Levy achieved huge success with “Deadpool and Wolverine”.

As of Thursday, Disney Marvel movie is the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, surpassing Warner Bros. “clown.”

Deadpool vs. Wolverine grossed $516.8 million domestically and $568.8 million internationally, bringing its global box office revenue to more than $1.085 billion. It’s worth noting that the sequel to Joker will be released in October this year.

Not only does this achievement demonstrate the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s staying power at the box office after a string of recent flops, but it also suggests that Marvel Studios can delve into darker material in the future without alienating fans.

“The success of their first R-rated film opened up a lot of opportunities for Disney and Marvel,” said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory. “It’s important to remember that the rating came naturally and was necessary for the character. It helped that audiences and fans responded so positively. They knew it wasn’t going to be a watered-down version of a formula that had proven itself successful.”

Previous Deadpool movies were produced by 20th Century Fox and were also rated R. When the mercenary with a bad mouth moved under Disney ownership in 2019, it was unclear whether the studio would accept his fourth-wall-breaking rudeness or sideline him while it worked on other Marvel projects.

So when Marvel president Kevin Feige revealed in 2021 that the third Deadpool movie would retain its R rating, MCU fans breathed a sigh of relief. Furthermore, Marvel allowed Reynolds and Levy to poke fun at company executives and the franchise as a whole, even referencing drugs with the classic line from Frozen, “Do you want to build a snowman?”

“Disney will likely be very careful about which films are appropriate for a more mature release in the future, as they still have to consider their large family audience, as does Marvel, but this at least provides a blueprint for how and when it would be appropriate to do so,” Robbins said.

Deadpool vs. Wolverine hits theaters in late July following a string of successes and failures for one of Disney’s most secure franchises. The studio’s last release was Marvel, which opened in November and had the lowest opening and lowest total box office in the history of a Marvel Cinematic Universe film.

Now people have a new confidence in MCU, especially Marvel takes advantage of San Diego Comic-Con and Disney’s D23 Expo is held every two years to promote its upcoming slate of films and share exclusive footage.

Going forward, Marvel appears set to limit the number of series it produces for its streaming platform Disney+ and focus on the big screen after saturating the market and alienating some fans with nearly a dozen shows for the streaming platform.

Marvel will release six movies in the next three years and will launch three TV series in 2025, namely “Agatha Christie’s Story”, “Heart of Steel” and “Daredevil: Rebirth”.

Audiences at both Comic Con and D23 raved about Marvel’s film plans, suggesting that interest in the superhero genre has not waned. That’s good news for the MCU, which has grossed more than $30 billion since the release of “Iron Man” in 2008.