Ryan Reynolds‘ Deadpool movie is shattering expectations and breaking box office records in the process.
According to early estimates the movie has made over $135 million in the box office, one of the best showings of all time for a superhero movie.
The Marvel-branded Deadpool is an enormous victory for Fox, whose last superhero movie Fantastic Four bombed in the box office, spent more than a decade in development. In fact, Ryan Reynolds spent 10 years to create an X-Men spinoff movie his way by allowing for a hard R-Rating. Fox finally said yes but kept the net budget at a low $58 million. Every other studio superhero movie spends well over $100 million in the box office. Showing how Deadpool changed the game.
In addition, Deadpool is estimating a colossal $150 million, a Presidents Day best that beats the $93 million grossed a year ago by sensation Fifty Shades of Grey. Among other records broken, Deadpool boasts the biggest R-Rated opening of all time, the biggest opening for the month of February and the top opening in history of Fox. It is also the biggest debut for a first-time feature film.
Deadpool is also making a ton of other movies, opening to $125 million from 61 markets, including scoring the biggest opening of all time in Russia, beating Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It’s also the biggest Fox opening of all time in 13 markets, including Australia and Taiwan, and the top opening for a film with the equivalent of an R rating in 11 territories.
“Deadpool is wildly creative and new, and that’s what audiences want,” said Fox domestic distribution chief Chris Aronson. “I think a lot of credit goes to [Fox CEO] Jim Gianopulos for having the courage to make this movie.”
So how did the Deadpool movie actually happen?
It all started when Fox made a deal with Marvel Enterprises via a licensing agreement for the X-Men universe characters. But after 10 years of negotiations with Fox, Ryan Reynolds was finally able to market the movie of his dreams. Deadpool is playing in nearly 4000 theaters, including several IMAX locations, which helps boost profits.
Deadpool follows Wade Wilson, a foul-mouthed soldier, nicknamed the Merc With the Mouth who is bestowed with special powers after undergoing an experimental treatment for cancer. But he vows to get revenge after he’s quickly betrayed, and horribly disfigured, separating him from his girlfriend. If you can recall, Ryan Reynolds first appeared as the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
The crown for biggest R-rated opening previously belonged to The Matrix Reloaded ($91.8 million), set in 2003 and one of the longest held records in box-office history.
