Marvel’s ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Hits $1 Billion Worldwide, Sets New Record

Marvel’s first-ever R-rated movie, “Deadpool & Wolverine,” has broken box office records to become the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time.

As of Thursday, the third installment of the “Deadpool” series reached a staggering global earnings total of $1.086 billion, surpassing the former record-holder, “Joker,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. These are the only R-rated movies that have ever exceeded the $1 billion mark at the box office.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” made a smashing debut in July with a $211 million domestic opening, as reported by Box Office Mojo. The film’s domestic totals have now climbed past $512 million, making it the second-highest earning movie of the year, only behind Disney Pixar’s “Inside Out 2.”

This remarkable success suggests that despite a recent decline in interest in Marvel films, there remains a significant audience for superhero movies. Marvel’s supposed downfall was speculated after the release of “Madame Web” in February, which only managed to gross $100 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo.

However, the third installment of “Deadpool” seems to be reigniting the spark in superhero fandom. It is notably the first superhero movie to surpass the $1 billion mark globally since 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. A shift in Marvel’s strategy might explain this resurgence in interest.

“People thought when Disney bought Marvel, ‘They’re going to shave off the hard edges. They’re going to make it all G-rated,’… Of course, that was never the intention,” said Kevin Feige, Producer and President at Marvel Studios, in an interview with Disney.

To date, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is Marvel’s first and only R-rated movie. The original “Deadpool” and its sequel, both rated R, were released under 20th Century Fox, as noted by Screen Rant. Typically, Disney and its associated studios like Marvel, Lucasfilm, and Pixar have maintained a safe distance from R-rated content. For instance, there are no R-rated “Star Wars” films, and Pixar has never released a movie rated higher than PG.

In July 2022, Disney+ added its first R-rated movies to its streaming platform, including “Deadpool,” “Deadpool 2,” and “Logan,” reported Variety. Since then, a handful of other R-rated movies have been added to the platform, such as “Bullet Train,” “All of Us Strangers,” and “The Predator.”

Contrarily, DC Studios, owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment, has not hesitated to release R-rated superhero films. Titles like “Joker,” “The Suicide Squad,” “Birds of Prey,” and “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” all carry an R rating.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” received an R rating for strong bloody violence, pervasive language including 118 instances of the F-word, gore, and sexual references, according to IMDb. “‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ is stuffed full of foul language, sex jokes, and gore,” wrote The New York Times, adding that “‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ is certainly not for kids.”

A 2018 study by the Motion Picture Association of America revealed that since 1968, over 17,200 movies have been rated R, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In contrast, less than 5,000 movies have received a PG-13 rating, a system introduced in 1984. Nearly 5,600 movies were rated PG. From 1968 to 2018, the MPAA rated 29,791 films, of which 57% were rated R, as reported by Business Insider.

Despite most movies being rated R, these films generally don’t perform as well at the box office. In 2022, almost two-thirds of box office revenue came from PG-13 movies, according to Statista. “If the greatest chance of box office success is having a PG-13 rating, or not having an R rating, then that’s where the industry really had to go if that was the primary goal,” stated Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, in an interview with Axios.

While most superhero films lean towards a PG-13 rating, there are family-friendly options available. Some notable PG-rated superhero movies include “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” “Superman: The Movie,” “Sky High,” “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” “The Incredibles,” “Big Hero 6,” and “The Rocketeer.”

Source: Box Office Mojo, Screen Rant, Variety, IMDb, The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Business Insider, Statista, Axios