To the surprise of absolutely no one, Deadpool & Wolverine has broken another record, passing the $1 billion mark at the global box office. Starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman as the eponymous heroes, the new movie, directed by Shawn Levy, is the MCU’s first R-rated outing. Deadpool & Wolverine has held the top spot at the global box office for three weeks running, beating out Blake Lively’s It Ends With Us. The movie has already broken countless records, and is soon set to break one more.

Having just passed the $1 billion mark, Deadpool & Wolverine is setting its sights on becoming the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time. That title is currently held by Todd Phillips’ Joker, which amassed $1.078 billion during its theatrical run. Deadpool & Wolverine has become a major critical and commercial success for Marvel Studios, putting the franchise back on solid ground moving forwards. As well as its record-breaking box office, Deadpool & Wolverine also boasts strong reviews from critics and audiences, sitting at 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 90% audience score.

What Deadpool & Wolverine’s Success Means for the MCU
Deadpool & Wolverine 3.5/5 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.Release Date July 26, 2024

As well as giving Marvel president Kevin Feige the opportunity to play a real life game of Brewster’s Millions, Deadpool & Wolverine’s success will have a long-lasting effect on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The major box office success of an R-rated MCU movie means there are inevitably more to come. Marvel previously announced that Mahershala Ali’s Blade will be rated R (if it ever gets released), but the studio will likely be more open to letting its characters swear and literally slice people in half in the future (here’s looking at you, Ghost Rider).

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The success of Deadpool & Wolverine also has major implications for Marvel Studios’ release schedule. Reflecting on its past cinematic missteps, Marvel previously announced it would be slowing down its upcoming release schedule. Deadpool & Wolverine is the only MCU movie released this year, and it has helped breathe new life into the franchise. As a result, Marvel Studios will likely continue this trend in the future. However, thanks in part to last year’s strikes, it is unlikely that Marvel Studios will ever cut its content slate as much as it has this year. 2025 already sees the release of two movies and two Disney+ shows: Captain America: Brave New World kicks things off when it hits theaters next Valentine’s Day. That is followed by the highly anticipated Daredevil: Born Again reboot, which brings almost the entire cast from the original show into the MCU. Marvel fans will then return to theaters when Thunderbolts hits the big screen later next year. Finally, 2025 is capped off with the long-awaited Ironheart Disney+ show. Maybe Marvel hasn’t learned its lesson about oversaturating the genre just yet.

As delighted as Marvel fans are that the franchise is returning to form, Marvel Studios needs to learn the right lessons from Deadpool & Wolverine’s success. There is the chance that the studio will misunderstand what made the film so popular. Some fans already believe that the re-casting of Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday means that Marvel Studios is leaning too hard into nostalgia, something Deadpool & Wolverine is filled with.

Deadpool & Wolverine
is currently screening in theaters.