Marvel Studios and Disney’s Deadpool & Wolverine have officially claimed the title of the highest-earning R-rated movie worldwide, without considering inflation. Directed by Shawn Levy and featuring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in a cast that was a perfect match, the film broke its previous record and a significant one at that, overtaking Todd Phillips’ Joker on Thursday. Reynolds announced the achievement on various social media platforms.
The Deadpool spin-off concluded on Thursday with a worldwide gross of $1.086 billion. This figure encompasses $516.8 million from the United States and $568.8 million from other countries. The Joker, featuring Joaquin Phoenix as the main character, earned $1.079 billion in 2019, without taking inflation into account. They remain the sole two R-rated films to achieve a $1 billion mark.
The third position in the ranking of the highest-grossing R-rated movies worldwide belongs to Christopher Nolan’s 2023 movie Oppenheimer, which has earned $974.5 million at the box office. This is followed by Reynolds’ two earlier Deadpool films, The Matrix Reloaded and The Passion of the Christ. Before the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, which was 20 years old at the time, held the top spot for the highest-grossing R-rated movie in the United States, grossing over $378 million from ticket sales.
The bold third adventure in the Deadpool saga, which kicked off at 20th Century Fox, marks a significant victory for Reynolds, the creator of the series, as well as for Marvel Studios and the superhero category at large. It’s the first superhero film to reach $1 billion since Sony and Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home nearly two years back, and the first Marvel/Disney MCU film to hit $1 billion since Avengers: Endgame in 2019.
Last weekend, Deadpool made it into the exclusive club of billion-dollar movies, matching The Avengers for the fastest time to reach $1 billion (19 days). The Avengers: Endgame currently holds the top spot (five days), followed by Avengers: Infinity War (11 days) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (12 days). This marks the 55th film to hit the $1 billion threshold; the 31st title from Disney, which also includes three films from 20th Century Fox acquired in the Disney-Fox deal; and the 11th movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which also features two films from Sony, Homecoming and No Way Home.
The year’s second movie to reach the billion-dollar milestone is the Disney/Pixar film Inside Out 2, following in the footsteps of its sister movie, which currently holds the record for the highest-grossing animated film globally, amassing nearly $1.6 billion in ticket sales. Disney is the sole studio to have achieved the feat of releasing two $1 billion films in the same year.
Since its release over the July 26-28 weekend, Deadpool & Wolverine has broken numerous records, including overtaking the total lifetime box office of the first two Deadpool movies, both in the U.S. and worldwide, in just two weeks. Deadpool’s earnings in the U.S. alone reached $363.1 million, with a global total of $782.6 million; the second movie’s earnings in the U.S. were $318.5 million, with a global total of $734.5 million. Regarding its potential for even greater success, many believe the film could reach a box office of $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion, supporting the idea that the movie is a groundbreaking, R-rated film that has achieved success across all four quadrants.
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