Summary
- Deadpools & Wolverine’s marketing helped it cross the billion-dollar mark.
- Spoilers generated excitement, detracting from potential backlash due to added diversity.
- Deadpool’s unique humor and breaking of the fourth wall set it apart from traditional MCU heroes.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is finally over the billion dollar movie slump with Deadpool & Wolverine joining the ranks of the MCU’s highest earning films. The MCU has always been a popular franchise, earning hundreds of millions on the first entries in the series back in 2008. However, the ball really began rolling in 2012, when The Avengers hit theaters and managed to pull in a whopping $1.5 billion. This trend continued to build momentum, with 10 MCU films all crossing this incredible milestone (via The Numbers), and the MCU proving itself to be one of the biggest earners in cinema history.
However, things peaked in 2019, when Marvel released the highest grossing movie of all time at that time, Avengers: Endgame. Since then, the world was hit by a global pandemic which severely hit the box office, and the MCU has been struggling to repeat its former success with the new Multiverse Saga. In fact, the last MCU movie to earn over a billion dollars was Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021. But now, Deadpool & Wolverine joins the prestigious ranks.
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10 The Marketing Campaign Was Marvel’s Best Ever
In order to achieve a monumental box office figure that crosses the billion dollar mark, studios need to put in the work. The fact is, movies need to be marketed in order to get seen. While some die-hard fans will keep an eye on updates and developments, if a movie never has trailers, posters, and other forms of advertisement, it’s likely to be missed by a large number of people, even if they would have liked the film.
Fortunately for Deadpool & Wolverine, the movie had the marketing genius of Ryan Reynolds, and the monumental funding of Disney behind it. This combination meant that Deadpool & Wolverine set the sky as the limit in terms of their marketing, and they pushed to appear on numerous platforms and mediums. From a crossover that saw Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman suit up to feature in a K-Pop music video, to collaborations with big-name brands and eye-catching posters, Deadpool & Wolverine did the work on marketing the movie.
9 Whisper It, But The Spoilers Helped
Custom image by Richard Craig
As much as the studios resist, and attempt to shut down spoilers, they do play a part in building anticipation for a movie. While some films are satisfied with being a visual delight, or a fun story, spoilers make movies interactive. In the run-up to a movie coming out, spoilers generate lots of talk and excitement for upcoming feature films. So, when minor leaks appear, and bigger leaks are rumored, it gets a conversation going around the movie that acts as more free advertising.
Spoilers can still ruin the experience for some people, but for others, following a film’s development, seeing elements of what the story could be about, and trying to piece the puzzle together is part of the fun. Regardless of whether the studio was always happy about leaks, or if actors failed to keep quiet, it helped to make the experience more fun and interactive. This isn’t to say that spoilers are good, or should happen, but sometimes, a little leak can go a long way, as seen from Ryan Reynold’s own actions that led to a Deadpool movie in the first place.
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8 Deadpool’s Previous Movies Made An Impressive Amount
While neither Deadpool or Deadpool 2 managed to cross the billion dollar mark, both movies did perform extremely well at the box office. For both the first and second entries, the movies managed to earn just shy of $800 million at the box office (via The Numbers). This is an extremely impressive feat, which places both Deadpool and Deapool 2 just outside of the top 100 box office totals of all time (via Box Office Mojo), coming in at 114th and 113th respectively.
This total is even more impressive when considering the production budget for the films, with Deadpool being made on a very lean $58 million, while Deadpool 2 had a significant boost at $110 million. These are not necessarily small numbers, but compared to other superhero movies, it’s much more conservative than most. And despite that, the movies managed to outperform all except 3 of the DCEU’s blockbuster releases (via The Numbers), all of which cost significantly more to make than the original Deadpool.
7 Jackman’s Wolverine Is One Of Marvel’s Most Enduring Brands
Custom image by Richard Craig
However, the movie also had a lot more than its own pedigree, or the production company behind it. They also had a secret weapon, which was announced early and delivered Hughe excitement for the movie. Hugh Jackman is one of the biggest celebrities in Hollywood, but perhaps the greatest character that Jackman has ever played is Wolverine. Jackman had been performing in theater and small productions since the early 1990s, but his breakout role was playing Wolverine in 2000s X-Men movie.
Since then, Jackman has been lauded for his performance in the role, and the perfect casting. And because of that fact, while other mutants were recast for reboots and spin-off movies, Jackman remained the face of Wolverine. Deadpool & Wolverine provided the actor with a chance to return to the character he last played in 2017’s Logan, and do so in a whole new way. Coming up on 25 years as Wolverine, Jackman’s return was a significant part of what makes Deadpool & Wolverine the movie that it is.
Related Should Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark have appeared in Deadpool & Wolverine like was planned?
The scene where Wade Wilson meets with Happy Hogan in Deadpool & Wolverine was originally very different. Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark was meant to appear in it, with Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool trying to convince Tony and Happy to let him join the Avengers. Due to RDJ playing Doctor Doom, that was later scrapped, though he read the scene with Reynolds. I would have loved to see Downey as Tony Stark again in the movie, especially since the scene was set in 2018, when Iron Man was alive. I don’t think RDJ playing Doom should have prevented it from happening.
6 Deadpool Defies The Worst Ideas Of What The MCU Is
While the MCU has attempted to be progressive in the past, the Multiverse Saga really doubled down on using its voice to highlight people from various walks of life. While this is absolutely respectable, and something to be celebrated, it always caused quite a stir among groups of people who felt the messaging was forced, or being shoved down their throats.
The reality is, the MCU and superheroes in general have always been pushing to be more progressive, but it’s shaped by the world around it. A few detractors online began smear campaigns against other MCU projects, review bombing and boycotting the theaters. This had a big impact of box office figures, and unfortunately reduced a lot of great work to something political, or with an agenda. In Deadpool & Wolverine, the primary purpose of the film was fun and nostalgia, which meant it didn’t draw the ire of the mob.
5 Cameos Are Currency
In modern Hollywood, movies that achieve the biggest success tend to be tied to another IP. Love it or hate it, movies today attempt to use beloved characters and franchises to grow success over time. This can be clearly seen by the number of reboots, crossovers, sequels, and remakes that are appearing. While this can go either way, and either harm or save a movie, Marvel has gotten the cameo down to an art form.
Cameos are a great way to connect the film’s universe in more subtle and fun ways. Whether a hero from a classic set of movies is brought back, or a popular actor who never got a chance to shine in a promised role, or a major fancast, cameos are a way to ensure some success. Audiences may be pleasantly surprised upon seeing unexpected cameos in Deadpool & Wolverine, but word quickly spreads, and more people flock to the theaters to see it for themselves.
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4 MCU Fans Are Starved For Once
From 2010 to 2019, Marvel released at least one new movie every year, and often two or three in a year. While COVID meant 2020 was a MCU free year for theaters, the studio returned with a vengeance in 2021 with three new titles, 2022 with 4, and 2023 with another 3. Not all of these were theatrical releases, but it was still a lot of Marvel content for people to process. 2024 is an incredibly unique year for Marvel Studios considering they only released one new title, Deadpool & Wolverine.
Evidently, pushing out too much content can make audiences weary of the franchise. However, Deadpool & Wolverine had a distinct advantage with no other MCU titles to compete with. While die-hard fans might miss the regular output of movies from the studio, the lack of films ensured there was a bigger appetite for the movie when Deadpool & Wolverine was released.
3 Deadpool & Wolverine Was Not A Typical Multiverse Movie
With the Multiverse Saga in full swing, the MCU has showcased several approaches and answers to the multiverse in its projects, which can sometimes be confusing. One of the most elaborate and exciting implementations of the multiverse came in the Loki series rather than anything in the MCU movies up to that point. And a big part of the multiverse in Loki revolved around the TVA, or Time Variance Authority.
And, just like Loki, Deadpool & Wolverine uses the TVA to great effect in telling its own multiverse story. Where movies like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and No Way Home are constrained by the multiverse theme, the TVA opens up a lot of possibilities because it exists outside of the Sacred Timeline. This means the movie was free to call on other characters and actors from the Fox era and beyond.
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2 It Brought One Of The Most Desirable Pairings Together, Wolverine And Deadpool
On top of all the exciting multiverse stuff, and the cameos, and everything else packed into Deadpool & Wolverine, the movie’s biggest selling point is right there in the title. This is the first movie that properly brings together Deadpool and Wolverine on the big screen. Yes, both Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds appeared in 2009s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but the film is best forgotten considering what it did to Deadpool.
Both on screen and off, Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds are close personal friends. The pair often have comical spats on social media, and they have a genuine connection that adds to the movie. With Deadpool’s character being a fourth-wall breaker, it makes sense for the movie to seamlessly switch between emotional beats for the characters and the actors portraying them.
1 Deadpool Is Unique From Other MCU Characters
As pointed out in the above paragraph, Deadpool is unique, and capable of breaking the fourth wall. However, this isn’t unique to Deadpool, as She-Hulk is also able to speak to the audience directly. What sets him apart from the rest of the MCU is his humor. Deadpool is not one to hold back, either when thinking of something or fighting with a massive group of enemies that far outmumber him.
Deadpool’s determination, his status as an anti-hero, and his R-rated content, which tends to poke fun at the studio who funded it, are always a treat. The rest of the MCU is usually a lot more black and white, with heroes and villains clearly defined. And for many, there is a huge demand for gritty, dark and violent drama revolving around superheroes. From The Boys, to Invincible, audiences are growing up from the original MCU, and now shows like those make a lot of noise as they become popular. Deadpool has done the same for the MCU and Deadpool & Wolverine, with more mature themes and violence.
Deadpool & Wolverine 
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A follow-up to the highly successful Deadpool and Deadpool 2 films starring Ryan Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth. The third film will be the first in the franchise to be developed under the Marvel Studios banner following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox.
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