Why Deadpool & Wolverine Blew Everyone Away At The Box Office

This article contains spoilers for "Deadpool & Wolverine"

"Deadpool & Wolverine" is an anomaly in the long, crowded history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's the franchise's first R-rated film. It's a coalescence of the Fox "X-Men" movies and the MCU's disparate multiverse threads. It's the first Marvel Studios movie since 2012's "Avengers" to be the only MCU film released in a single calendar year. And after a stellar opening weekend, it's also one of the franchise's biggest hits.

Critical response has been positive overall but somewhat mixed. Many have critiqued the film's reliance on fan service and meta humor, claiming that the movie itself lacks substance. The fan response has been overwhelmingly positive, however, earning the movie a near-perfect audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Regardless of what the reviews said, though, "Deadpool & Wolverine" was likely always going to be a box office success. "Some films are critic proof and audiences will see them no matter what," media analyst Karie Bible of Exhibitor Relations Co. told Looper. "Others are really driven by the critics and positive word of mouth."

It was pretty clear from the start that "Deadpool & Wolverine" would fall into the former category. While Marvel has had some box office bombs since "Avengers: Endgame" wrapped up the Infinity Saga, this particular film has generated a ton of buzz for years. Let's dig a little deeper into why fans are so excited about the movie and what led to its immense box office success.

In its opening weekend, "Deadpool & Wolverine" shattered numerous records. The film started out with a $38.5 million gross from preview screenings alone, breaking the previous record for an R-rated movie. That strong start was the precursor to an enormous opening weekend where the film took home $205 million at the domestic box office and $233.3 million internationally, for a total opening weekend gross of $438.3 million (via The Hollywood Reporter).

That's a new record for R-rated film openings, and it even makes it into the top ten all time for any film, landing at the number eight spot. At this rate, the film seems primed to top the all-time R-rated box office rankings, though it still has a ways to go.

While it may have been hard to predict such a historic opening, all signs were pointing to "Deadpool & Wolverine" making a bold entrance. "This film has such great buzz and people LOVE both Reynolds and Jackman," Karie Bible told Looper ahead of opening weekend. "Tracking is high and fan enthusiasm is as well. Watch for this to have a HUGE opening." In the end, that's exactly what happened.

It's no secret that "Deadpool & Wolverine" has generated more excitement than most superhero movies in years. A survey conducted among moviegoers by Fandango in December 2023 placed the threequel as the number-one most anticipated film of 2024, scoring ahead of "Dune: Part Two," "Beetlejuice 2," and "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire," among others.

A big part of that anticipation is the film's unique status within the MCU. It's officially part of the Marvel Studios franchise, as well as a follow-up to the first two "Deadpool" movies made prior to Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox. That quickly got fans of the old "X-Men" movies excited, as this is the closest we've gotten so far to the MCU introducing its own version of the mutant hero team.

In an era of the MCU that many have described as lackluster or directionless, "Deadpool & Wolverine" is a clear, brash installment — one that plays on nostalgia, but not on the "Avengers" variety that's run a bit dry in recent years. And, of course, when you get an actor as popular as Hugh Jackman to come back and reprise the most popular role of his career, people are going to show up at the cinema.

Most folks assumed that 2017's "Logan" would be the end for Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. When the film came out, the Australian actor had been playing the part for the better part of two decades. "Logan" itself was marketed as his official sendoff, and it wound up being the most critically acclaimed of all the "X-Men" movies.

While some would have preferred for the character to never return after such a perfect finale, it's hard to deny the box office appeal of such a beloved performance getting one more turn in the spotlight. Giving Jackman the comic-accurate yellow super suit — something he never got in the Fox movies — was just icing on the cake. Logan grossed over $600 million globally and remains the 9th-highest-grossing R-rated movie ever (per The Numbers). It remains to be seen if "Deadpool & Wolverine" can top that number, but it's certainly looking like it very well will.

For many fans, seeing that R-rated, no-filter, bloody-clawed Wolverine one more time was a dream come true. Jackman still carries all the star power you remember in the movie, and his chemistry with Ryan Reynolds — wasted back in 2009's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine — makes for a great buddy movie dynamic. "Both Reynolds and Jackman have proven track records at the box office," media analyst Karie Bible told Looper ahead of the film's release, "and their combined star power here should make for a powerful combination."

It's not just Hugh Jackman's Logan who had a strong reputation going into "Deadpool & Wolverine." As mentioned above, "Logan" is currently the 9th-highest-grossing R-rating movie worldwide. Two of the films ahead of it on that list? "Deadpool" and "Deadpool 2," which occupy the three and four spots behind "Joker" and "Oppenheimer." Both films grossed over $780 million at the global box office, totalling more than $1.5 billion. "Deadpool 3" is now gunning for the new number one spot.

Ryan Reynolds' two previous comic book outings have also earned high critical praise. And, of course, the fans love them. The "Deadpool" films shook up the superhero genre, showing that an irrelevant style aimed at older moviegoers can still lead to massive financial success. The fact that that legacy is separated from the recent MCU entries in people's minds may have aided "Deadpool & Wolverine" in the long run.

"I would say the only challenge this film faces is superhero fatigue," Karie Bible said. "Marvel was once invincible, but they've had several disappointments and even misfires at the box office. There is red hot buzz, so this new film should easily turn things around." It surely helps that both the "Deadpool" franchise and "Logan" delivered very different tones than the usual comic book movie fare. That may be why the "superhero fatigue" phenomenon has left the latest MCU film seemingly unscathed.

Anytime a studio or a franchise does something to shake up the usual formula, it inevitably draws eyes. As Disney's foremost film series since its start in 2008, the MCU has always been kept under pretty strict guidelines to remain family-friendly. The franchise didn't have its first F-bomb until "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" in 2023, despite the fact that PG-13 movies are allowed one each. The films have also frequently been criticized as sexless, eschewing any semblance of sensuality in the larger interest of maintaining the Disney brand image.

That rigidity has loosened a bit over the last couple of years, with the Disney+ series "Echo" bringing a bit more visceral style than the MCU is typically accustomed to. Even with those previous strides, though, the release of a full-on R-rated movie — the sole standard-bearer for the franchise in 2024, no less — is absolutely the furthest that Marvel Studios has strayed from its kid-centric roots.

Risks in brand strategy often pay dividends, as "Deadpool & Wolverine" has shown. However, it's unlikely that this will dramatically shift the business model for the studio. "Deadpool & Wolverine" is rated R for a variety of reasons, most of which are uniquely relevant to the two titular characters. However, if the film continues to blow the doors off, it's possible that Disney might continue to explore other less traditional projects going forward.

Ever since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, the X-Men have loomed like a specter on the horizon of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We've gotten bits and pieces, like Sir Patrick Stewart reprising his role as Professor Charles Xavier in an alternative timeline in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." And, of course, the immense popularity of "X-Men '97" revitalized excitement for the MCU's own mutants.

"Deadpool & Wolverine" fans those flames of X-Men nostalgia higher than ever, bringing back characters from the Fox films like X-23/Laura (Dafne Keen) and Pyro (Aaron Stanford) and introducing X-Men villain Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) for the first time on the big screen. While it was unlikely that the movie was ever going to officially open a whole new "X-Men" series, getting all of these big names associated with the mutants was enough to garner excitement among fans. A lot of "Deadpool & Wolverine" can be seen as a snarky but sincere celebration of that former franchise and the many actors who made it so successful.

For now, we'll have to keep waiting, as "Fantastic Four" is the next big comic addition coming to the MCU, but more mutants are coming eventually. "Our animated series X-Men '97 was sort of the first taste of people reuniting with the X-Men mythology and that storyline," Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige said in a interview with Discussing Film. "The response to that series just further excited us about how to bring the soap opera and the saga of the mutants to the MCU."

It was clear from the start what kind of movie "Deadpool & Wolverine" would be: the kind that might be a little light on story but overflowing with Easter eggs and cameos. The "Deadpool" films have always been fourth-wall-breaking, in keeping with the character's comic book origins. Throwing him into a franchise as expansive as the MCU just gave him all that many extra walls to break.

In addition to former "X-Men" actors like Dafne Keen and Aaron Stanford reprising their old roles, "Deadpool & Wolverine" brings in tons of other once-and-future Marvel actors. Wesley Snipes plays Blade again. Chris Evans plays Johnny Storm again. Disney even brought Jennifer Garner back to play Elektra Natchios from the "Daredevil" and "Elektra" movies from the early 2000s. The cameos in "Deadpool & Wolverine" just keep coming.

In addition to the familiar faces, "Deadpool & Wolverine" is packed with Easter eggs and little pokes at the MCU itself. Hugh Jackman's starring role in the "X-Men' franchise is a key plot point, and the Void, where most of the movie takes place, is loaded with memorabilia from previous Marvel movies.

"I did not think it was possible," Snipes told Entertainment Weekly concerning his cameo — a sentiment that you could apply to most of the surprises in the film. "I didn't think we would be able to pull it off. I didn't think that Marvel was into it, Disney was into it."

Since the dawn of civilization, or, more specifically, 2013, Marvel Studios has put out multiple movies every year. The only exception until now was 2020, when zero MCU movies were released due to theater closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. At times, that rapid-fire release schedule has played to the franchise's benefit, building consistent momentum along a number of sub-series leading up to the more event-style crossover films.

Ever since "Avengers: Endgame," though, the pace of MCU releases has felt more nauseating than exciting. There hasn't been an "Avengers" movie since 2019, and the lack of unified narrative direction has created more confusion for casual moviegoers. A lot of the films released over the last few years have been new one-offs — "Eternals," "Black Widow," "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" — and the onrush of Disney+ shows has only made things more complicated for the average fan to keep up with.

Fewer movies doesn't necessarily mean better movies, but the fervor around "Deadpool & Wolverine" is hard to ignore. As previously discussed, there are a lot of different reasons why the new movie is having so much success at the box office, but focus is surely one of them. Lots of people simply don't want to go see three or four different marvel movies in a 12-month span, but if there's only one? Well, that's a much easier pitch — especially when the star power is there.

Onscreen chemistry is one thing, but in today's world of viral marketing campaigns and celebrity Instagram feeds, a little offscreen chemistry doesn't hurt either. Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have been friends for years, and they've often made that friendship public via various promotional campaigns and other projects. In the case of "Deadpool & Wolverine," it especially adds to the story that the two actors first met on the set of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."

"Honestly, it left the biggest impression on me," Reynolds explained while sitting down with People, remembering how Jackman carried himself during the film's production. "I thought, man, if I'm ever even remotely lucky enough to be in Hugh Jackman's position in life, these are the lessons you want to get into your DNA as soon as humanly possible."

Since then, they've kept up a playful banter online, jabbing at one another in interviews and appearing in commercials for each other's business ventures. Some might see this kind of public celebrity friendship as a simple PR maneuver, but it's clear that the two men are genuinely good friends as well as colleagues. The comical relationship that they've played up over the last decade has translated well to the "Deadpool & Wolverine" press tour, generating additional buzz off of the stars' longstanding real-life dynamic. Plus, for longtime fans, it's just fun to see their two "X-Men" characters get a second shot — a redemption arc after their 2009 blunder.

Of all the Disney+ shows that Marvel Studios has put out over the last few years, "Loki" is right near the top. It was the most-watched MCU series on the streaming platform as of June 2023, according to Statista, and it's regularly ranked right alongside "WandaVision" as the franchise's best Disney+ showing. The fact that "Loki" remains the only MCU Disney series to get a second season is another testament to its success.

In this modern era of messy Marvel multiverses, no "Avengers" movies, and fired villains, "Loki" is about as central of a story to connect to as the MCU has. The show introduced all of the timeline lore that has driven the so-called "Multiverse Saga," and it's that lore that "Deadpool & Wolverine" plays on most of all. For all the praise they received, fewer casual moviegoers are likely to be familiar with the ins and outs of "Hawkeye" and "Moon Knight." But since "Loki" has been so successful, "Deadpool 3" is able to lean on it in a way that audiences understand.

The Void, the TVA, Alioth, the Sacred Timeline, multiverse variants — all of these ideas started in "Loki," and they drive the plot of "Deadpool & Wolverine" as well. It's about as much cohesion as a movie has had with a show in the MCU of late, and it's likely played a role in the massive crowds that are turning out for "Deadpool 3."

A big hit like "Deadpool & Wolverine" is great news for the MCU, especially given some of the more lackluster responses to more recent movies and shows. However, that success won't be so easy to translate to the rest of the franchise.

For one, this is theoretically the end of a trilogy, though Deadpool will likely pop back up in future projects. Even if he does, though, this isn't a central story to the franchise, nor is it a major pillar of the current overarching plot. If anything, it's a comedic side story. Its success calls to mind Marvel's last big theatrical hit, "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," which was great but didn't have much to offer the larger, floundering franchise.

The one big potential impact of "Deadpool & Wolverine" doing so well is Disney greenlighting more R-rated Marvel projects. Disney CEO Bob Iger has already said that the company will continue exploring that kind of content at Marvel Studios, both with Deadpool and other potential characters. There's certainly a lot of rich material to pull from in the comics for more adult-oriented stories.

With the recent news that Robert Downey Jr. will be returning to the MCU to play Doctor Doom in 2026's "Avengers: Doomsday," the series seems to be recentering around the Fantastic Four, at least for now. "Thunderbolts" and "Captain America: Brave New World" are also on the way in 2025, which will be another packed year for Marvel. It remains to be seen if the studio can keep up the box-office momentum after "Deadpool & Wolverine."