Deadpool (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Deadpool | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
| |
| Directed by | Tim Miller |
| Produced by | |
| Written by | |
| Based on | Deadpool by Fabian Nicieza Rob Liefeld |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Tom Holkenborg |
| Cinematography | Ken Seng |
| Edited by | Julian Clarke |
Production
companies | |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates
|
|
Running time
| 108 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $58 million[1][2] |
| Box office | $782.6 million[3] |
Deadpool is a 2016 American superhero parody film directed by Tim Miller and written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is the eighth installment in the X-Men film series, and stars Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T.J. Miller, Gina Carano, Leslie Uggams and Brianna Hildebrand. In Deadpool, antihero Wade Wilson hunts the man who nearly destroyed his life.
Development began in February 2004 with New Line Cinema, but put the film in turnaround in March 2005, with 20th Century Fox buying the rights. In May 2009, after Reynolds portrayed the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Fox lent the film to writers, and Miller was hired for his directorial debut in April 2011. Enthusiastic acclaim from leaked CGI test footage by Miller in July 2014 led to Fox greenlighting the film in September. Additional casting began in early 2015, and principal photography commenced in Vancouver from March to May.
Deadpool premiered in Paris on February 8, 2016, and was released on February 12 in the United States in IMAX, DLP, D-Box and premium large format. The film was a massive blockbuster success, grossing over $782 million worldwide and breaking numerous box office records, including becoming the seventh highest-grossing film of 2016, the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time when unadjusted for inflation, and the highest-grossing X-Men film. It also received generally positive reviews, with many praising Reynolds' performance and the film's style, black humor and action sequences. Shortly after its success, a sequel was greenlit by Fox.
Contents
[hide]Plot[edit]
Wade Wilson, a former special forces operative working as a mercenary, meets an escort named Vanessa at a local bar, and their one-night stand becomes a relationship. A year later, Wilson proposes to her, but is then diagnosed with liver, lung, prostate and brain cancer. Despite Vanessa's love, he detests the thought of her watching him waste away, and leaves her in the middle of the night.
A recruiter from a covert organization approaches Wilson and promises him abilities that will cure his cancer. Wilson reluctantly agrees. He is taken to a remote laboratory where he meets Ajax and Angel Dust, and instantly resents them. Ajax injects a mutation-activating serum into Wilson and subjects him to daily torture to activate it. When Wilson's body fails to respond, Ajax asphyxiates him in an oxygen chamber, developing an accelerated healing factor that cures him but leaves him disfigured. Wilson finds a way to destroy the lab and escapes his confines. He battles Ajax, but relents when Ajax promises a cure. Ajax then impales him with a rebar and leaves him for dead.
Wilson survives and attempts to return to Vanessa, but is afraid of her reaction to his disfigurement. After consulting his best friend Weasel, Wilson begins the task of tracking down Ajax to get the cure. He becomes a masked vigilante, adopts the alter ego "Deadpool", and resides with an elderly blind woman, Al. Following a string of leads, Wilson tracks Ajax to a convoy on an expressway. He executes the numerous convoy guards, subdues Ajax, and demands the cure. He is interrupted by Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. They try to convince him to join the X-Men, and Ajax escapes. They attach a restraint to Wilson, but he frees himself by severing his own hand, which regenerates overnight.
Ajax and Angel Dust go to Weasel's bar and learn about Vanessa. Weasel warns Wilson that she is in danger, and they go to the strip club where she works to warn her. Ajax and Angel Dust abduct Vanessa and tell Wilson to meet them at a decommissioned helicarrier in a scrapyard. Wilson persuades Colossus and Negasonic to help him rescue Vanessa. They travel to the scrapyard and battle Ajax, Angel Dust and their team of mercenaries. As Colossus and Negasonic fight Angel Dust, Wilson kills most of the mercenaries and engages Ajax in a hand-to-hand combat atop the helicarrier. Negasonic accidentally destroys the equipment stabilizing the helicarrier, tipping it and scattering Ajax and Wilson. As Colossus carries Negasonic and Angel to safety, Wilson saves Vanessa and injures Ajax. When Wilson demands his cure, Ajax laughs and reveals there is none. Wilson kills Ajax, despite Colossus's pleas to spare him. Vanessa is angry with Wilson for abandoning her, but they reconcile and kiss after she learns why he did not return sooner.
In a post-credits scene, Wilson tells the audience that the film is over and announces a sequel featuring Cable.
Cast[edit]
- Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson / Deadpool, a wisecracking mercenary who is subjected to an experimental regenerative mutation to cure his cancer, which gives him accelerated healing superpowers but severely scars his body. Reynolds called this version of Deadpool more "authentic" and closer to the comic version than his X-Men Origins: Wolverine version,[4][5] saying that this Deadpool "takes nothing seriously."[6] Like his comic book counterpart, Deadpool frequently breaks the fourth wall, addressing the audience, commenting about the film's production, and referring to other Marvel films.
- Morena Baccarin as Vanessa, an escort and Wilson's girlfriend.[7][8] Baccarin described her as "scrappy, she's not worried about her hair and her nails or messing around. She gets down and dirty and she's not a victim, she's not a damsel in distress."
- Ed Skrein as Francis Freeman / Ajax, an artificially mutated member of Weapon X, the program that creates Deadpool.[9] Ajax is a weapons expert, with enhanced reflexes and immunity to pain.[10] According to director Tim Miller, Skrein did "80%" of his own stunts, with stunt doubles only used for rigged stunts.[11]
- T. J. Miller as Weasel, Wilson's best friend, the owner of a bar frequented by mercenaries.[12][13] Describing the character, T. J. Miller said that Weasel "looks like his superhero power is spilling mustard on his shirt. Or who was bitten by a radioactive spider as a child". He initially attempted to give the character a facial tic, but Tim Miller rejected the idea. On casting T. J. Miller, producer Simon Kinberg explained that the film has "a main character who is so outrageous and irreverent, we needed someone who could keep up with Ryan. We knew that T.J. would bring that."[14]
- Gina Carano as Angel Dust, an artificially mutated member of Weapon X who possesses superhuman levels of strength, stamina and speed.[15] Carano was given "some room to play with" the characterization of Angel Dust, and said that the character "trusts Ajax with everything. She pretty much only really responds to him. He... kinda created me and showed me everything. And I do the same thing to everyone else."[16]
- Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, an elderly blind woman and Deadpool's roommate.[17] Uggams said that Al has "been through British Intelligence, she's done all kinds of wild and crazy things. She had sight at one time, but she lost her sight. But she's adjusted very well... She's old, but she's feisty." On Al's relationship with Deadpool, Uggams said that Al "loves being a part of" Wade's double life and "loves the danger part of him".[18]
- Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, a teenage X-Men trainee with the mutant power to detonate atomic bursts from her body.[19] The writers chose to use the character based on her name, and changed her abilities from telepathic and precognitive powers to "a literal warhead because we thought it was funnier." To do this, Miller obtained permission from Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.[20]
- Stefan Kapičić as the voice of Colossus, an X-Men member with the mutant ability to transform his entire body into organic steel. The role was originally offered to Daniel Cudmore who played the character in X2, X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men: Days of Future Past, but he declined because he did not want his voice dubbed over by a different actor performing a Russian accent, as he is portrayed in the comics.[11] Therefore, Colossus became a whole new interpretation then previously portrayed in the series, with a performance by several actors closer to the image of Colossus in the comics: Kapičić provided the voice,[21] Andre Tricoteux provided the on-set performance,[22] T. J. Storm provided the final body motion performance,[22] motion capture supervisor Greg LaSalle provided the final facial performance,[23] and Glenn Ennis was used as "the inspiration for the [character's] chiseled-jaw look".[22]
Additionally, Karan Soni portrays the taxi driver Dopinder,[24] and Jed Rees portrays a Weapon X recruiter that Wade consistently refers to as "Agent Smith".[11] X-Men co-creator Stan Lee and Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld make cameo appearances as a strip club MC and a patron of Weasel's bar, respectively.[25][26] Isaac C. Singleton Jr. portrays Boothe, a tough patron at Weasel's bar. Rob Hayter briefly appears as Bob, a recurring character in Deadpool's comic appearances.[26] The film does not reference Bob's comic history as an agent of Hydra due to rights issues with Marvel Studios.[27] Nathan Fillion filmed a small, unused cameo as a man who offers Wade a napkin when Wade returns to the strip club to see Vanessa; it can be seen as "No 5 Bathroom" in the published version's deleted scenes.[28]
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
"There's definitely a sort of overall plan that we've all been talking about for the X-Menuniverse now, and Deadpool obviously fits into that. So yeah, I guess I would say it's part of certainly an overall timeline and thought process that goes into these films."
Artisan Entertainment announced a deal with Marvel Entertainment to co-produce, finance, and distribute a film based on Deadpool in May 2000,[30] while New Line Cinemaattempted to produce a Deadpool film in February 2004, with David S. Goyer working on the script and Ryan Reynolds in the title role;[31][32] Reynolds became interested in the character after discovering that Deadpool refers to his own appearance as "Ryan Reynolds crossed with a Shar-Pei" in Cable & Deadpool.[33][34] By August, Goyer lost interest in favor of other projects.[35] In March 2005, after New Line put Deadpool in turnaround, 20th Century Fox became interested in the project.[36]
Fox began moving on a Deadpool spin-off early in the development of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which had Reynolds as Deadpool in its cast,[31] and after the opening weekend success of that film announced that it was lending Deadpool out to writers, with Lauren Shuler Donner producing the project.[37] Donner wanted the film to reboot the character of Deadpool, ignoring the version in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and including attributes that the character has in the comics, such as breaking the fourth wall.[38] Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were hired to write the script in January 2010,[39] and in a month an early draft leaked online,[40] garnering a positive response from fans that prompted Fox to grant a small budget for test footage.[41] Robert Rodriguez was sent another early draft of the screenplay in June 2010,[42] but negotiations fell through, and Tim Miller was eventually hired as director, in April 2011.[43] Adam Berg was also in the running to direct at one point.[44]
In July 2014, the test footage for the film, which had been created with visual effects in 2012 and starred Reynolds through motion capture, was leaked online.[45][46] Blur Studio, the company that created the test footage, subsequently released it officially.[47] The footage received an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response online,[46] and in September 2014, Fox gave Deadpool a release date of February 12, 2016.[48] Kinberg confirmed a month later that Deadpool would be part of the X-Men shared cinematic universe.[49] Over the years of development, Reese and Wernick wrote additional versions of the script, including a PG-13 version. During the writing process, both James Cameron and David Fincher read early versions of the script, and each of them went to Fox and told them they needed to greenlight the movie, helping to get it out of development hell.[50] Reese felt that ultimately, "about seventy percent" of the initial draft ended up in the final film.[51] Changes during rewrites include the removal of the Marvel characters Garrison Kane and Cannonball from the film, due to budgetary concerns over the required CGI for his cybernetic arms, and the perception of a "stupid hick character", respectively.[11] Wyre, initially an additional villain, was also cut,[52] with the three replaced by Angel Dust.[53] Plans to have the Marvel superhero Cable appear were halted when it was decided that he would work better in a potential sequel.[52]
Reynolds "100 percent" attributed Fox's greenlighting of the film for production to the test footage leak, stating, after being asked who had leaked it, "I would have, if I had known it would have caused that!...Now, we get to make the movie. We don't get to make it with the budget of most superhero movies, but we get to make it the way we want to make it."[54] Reese admitted that about $7 million was deducted from the budget ostensibly last-minute, forcing further rewrites.[53] Miller, who made his directorial debut with Deadpool,[43] has been credited by both Reynolds and motion capture supervisor Greg LaSalle with making efficient use of the budget, for example waiting to work on the CGI for Colossus until after the film was edited, cutting down on the cost of post-production.[55][56] Producer Simon Kinberg was paid a $2 million salary upfront, then another $38 million after the film made $782 million worldwide.[57]
Pre-production[edit]
In December 2014, Reynolds was confirmed to reprise his role as Wade Wilson / Deadpool.[58] The next month, T. J. Miller and Ed Skrein were in talks to appear in the film;[59] in February 2015, Gina Carano was cast as Angel Dust, Miller was confirmed for an unspecified role, and so was Morena Baccarin.[7][15] Taylor Schilling, Crystal Reed, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Sarah Greene, and Jessica De Gouw were also considered for Baccarin's role.[60] In March, Miller's role was revealed to be Weasel,[13] while Baccarin's was revealed to be Vanessa Carlysle.[8][61] Brianna Hildebrand was cast as Negasonic Teenage Warhead,[19] and a month later Skrein revealed that he would play Ajax.[10] Leslie Uggams revealed she would portray Blind Al in July,[17] and Tim Miller revealed that Jed Rees would portray the Recruiter in August.[11] Stefan Kapičić voiced Colossus,[21] replacing Daniel Cudmore, who played the character in previous X-Men films. Cudmore was asked to return for Deadpool, but declined as his voice was always intended to be replaced.[11][62]
Talking about the make-up used to depict the scarring on Wilson's body, Tim Miller said, "There was some discussion about how horrible we could make it, and I firmly planted my flag in 'fucking horrible', because if it isn't, nobody's going to excuse him for being such a dick and being so angry. If it's just a few scars we're not going to have any sympathy for him. To Fox's credit they were like, 'Go for it.' But that said, we didn't want to make him a zombie, which some of the comics go pretty far with. I'm all for authenticity but you can't have a main character who's leaking pus. You don't want to see inside his mouth when he's chewing, that's a bridge too far. I think he looks suitably hideous. And that's not the only stage of the make-up: when we first see him in the workshop it's pretty raw." Elaborating on the initial make-up scene in the workshop, Miller stated that it took 6 hours to apply Reynolds' full-body make-up.[11] Also, visual effects supervisor Jonathan Rothbart discussed the practical costume created for Deadpool, noting that it was difficult to replicate later in CGI for the visual effects: "The costume is made of this mesh so all the dirt would get into the gutters and the cracks and crevices of the costume. Then all the ridges of the mesh would stay nice and clean, so anytime sun would be on it and the light hits it, it still takes that orangey hue but as soon as it goes in the shadow it dropped to this more blueish of the dirt."[22]
Filming[edit]
Principal photography commenced on March 23, 2015, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada,[64] and ended on May 29, 2015.[65] Ken Seng served as director of photography on the film, while Robert Alonzo and Philip J. Silvera were the stunt coordinators.[22] The production hired over 2,000 local people as actors, extras, and crew members.[66] Reynolds stated that inspiration for the fight between Deadpool and Ajax in the latter's laboratory came from the sauna showdown in David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises.[67]
Post-production[edit]
Visual effects for Deadpool were produced by Digital Domain, Atomic Fiction, Blur Studio, Weta Digital, Rodeo FX, Luma Pictures, and Image Engine, with many of the effects tools provided from Adobe Systems. While the vendors mostly worked on individual areas of the film, there was some collaboration, particularly in the final battle sequence which takes place in the wreckage of an aircraft carrier, and in which Luma created the climactic fight between Deadpool and Ajax; Digital Domain created the majority of the Colossus effects, except for when he is damaged later on, for which he was created by Blur Studio; Digital Domain also created the effects for Negasonic Teenage Warhead's abilities as well as parts of the deck of the aircraft carrier; Rodeo contributed matte paintings for the background; and Weta provided the facial animation for Deadpool. Additionally, when Deadpool is stabbed in the head during the fight and hallucinates "cartoon characters that dance around his face", Miller found a "French animation artist who had a unique style and did all the 2D work" which the visual effects team then composited into the shots.[22]The aircraft carrier was designed as a "helicarrier", though it is not named as such in the film due to rights issues with Marvel Studios.[68][69]
For the earlier freeway battle, expanded from the similar sequence in the test footage, Atomic Fiction created a freeway environment with a city backdrop, based on plates shot in Detroit, along with all the vehicles, with vehicle interiors and some character actions filmed on a greenscreen stage. Elements of Chicago and Vancouver were also included in the city environment, while some of the live-action stunts filmed for the sequence include a stuntman lying on a treadmill to simulate being dragged by a vehicle, and stuntmen riding greenscreen rigs to simulate the riding of motorcycles. For the film's opening title sequence, Blur Studio used assets from Atomic to create "a constant pullback inside the car that reveals all the thugs Deadpool is fighting, and he's pulling a wedgie on one of the guys, putting his fingers into the eyes of another dude." The sequence is described as an "85 second full CG frozen moment mid-freeway crash that's populated with such titles as 'Directed by an overpaid tool' and 'Produced by asshats'".[22]
Concerning Colossus, Miller felt, as a fan of the comic's character, said that the "dude with the shiny skin" from the previous X-Men films was "not fucking Colossus...He should be this monstrous guy, and they actually let me ['change the look of him' and] make him seven-and-a-half feet tall."[11] Digital Domain ultimately created the completely CGI character using the facial performance of motion capture supervisor Greg LaSalle and the body motion performance of T. J. Storm, replacing on-set performer Andre Tricoteux, who often "wore platform shoes or an extra hat-piece or be on a platform to be even taller" meaning "he couldn't move too athletically", especially during fight sequences. For the character's metallic finish, the visual effects team sought out specific reference to avoid making him look too "chromey", visiting a metal company with "a whole bunch of different samples of different types of steels." Cold rolled steel was settled on as the primary look, with the much darker hot rolled steel chosen for his hair. To keep Colossus's ridges and lines always perfectly straight, as in the comic books, the animators were able to move them rather than have them 'locked' to the animated model, which was causing them to "get all squiggly and strange" as the character moved. Digital Domain's Colossus asset was also used by Blur Studio, who created the character for a scene in which he is in a cab as well as providing the damaged version of the character for the final battle sequence.[22]
Rather than animate every shot of Deadpool to show the character "emoting", deemed necessary due to the amount of Reynolds' emotion coming through the bottom of the Deadpool mask while a "solid shell" was formed from the upper lip up (an effect described as 'chinwagging'), which would not have been feasible considering the film's budget, Weta Digital instead warped each shot of Deadpool based on facial references provided by Reynolds, which was called an "ingenious 2D-ish solution". Image Engine used a similar process for the film's promotional materials. For the character's initial transformation, where a "horrifying skin scar effect" is used, Rodeo FX referenced rotting fruit and maggot-eaten meat. Rodeo also augmented the practical fire and environment used in the sequence, with Rodeo FX visual effects supervisor Wayne Brinton noting that rather than just layering on more fire as the scene goes along, the vendor made more things burn, to show a progression in the burning down of the building and to avoid the fire looking "flat". Additionally, when the character rips off his burning clothes, Rodeo added a CGI penis to Reynolds, which "wasn't meant to be comedic – it was one of those things that's when it's there it looks so natural that you don't even notice it. When it wasn't there it looked really weird."[22]
Deadpool relied heavily on practical, make-up, and digital effects to create its R-rated blood and gore, with Luma Pictures one of the main vendors responsible for this. Visual effects were used for the more complex blood and gore, while footage of pressurized PVC piping 'spewing out' practical blood and gore was also composited into the film for some sequences. For the scene where Deadpool cuts off his own hand, Digital Domain did not want to be "outdone" by Luma, and so had "buckets of blood pouring out". Luma also created the regrowing hand, which was based on the hand of a fetus.[22]
Music[edit]
Main article: Deadpool (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Junkie XL, credited by his legal name Tom Holkenborg, composed the score for Deadpool, using synthesizers made popular in the 80s that "were perceived as very serious [at the time, but] now, in hindsight, when you play them back, they're very funny." For Deadpool's primary 'riffs', Holkenborg utilizes the ARP 2600 synth and a Synclavier, while an Oberheim was used for emotionally-focused scenes. A complete orchestra was used for the X-Men to give them a "noble" feeling and to honor the previous X-Men films.[70]The film's soundtrack also incorporates several songs, including "Deadpool Rap" by YouTube personalities TeamHeadKick, inspired by the 2013 video game, but was revised to fit the movie's events instead.[71] The soundtrack album was released digitally on February 12, 2016, and physically through Milan Records, on March 4, featuring both Holkenborg's score and songs from other artists that are used in the film.[72]
On April 27, a secondary soundtrack was released titled, Deadpool Reloaded: More Music From the Motion Picture which featured more tracks and remixes.[citation needed]
Release[edit]
Deadpool made its world premiere at the Grand Rex in Paris on February 8, 2016.[73] Deadpool was released on February 10, 2016, in the United Kingdom and February 12, 2016, in North America.[48][74] The film was released in various formats such as IMAX, DLP, premium large formats and D-Box.[75] However, it was denied a theatrical release in China and Uzbekistan due to its content, for violence, nudity and graphic language.[76][77] In India, it received an "A" certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification after seven cuts.[78] It opened Tuesday, February 9, in Hong Kong, and in 7 additional markets on Wednesday, February 10, including the United Kingdom and Ireland, France, Taiwan, the Philippines, Belgium and Singapore. 39 other markets, including Australia, Argentina and Brazil, opened on Thursday, February 11, and 23 more markets bowed on Friday, February 12, including the United States and Canada and India.[79] The film also opened in South Korea, Italy, Spain, and Japan in the following weekends.[79]
Marketing[edit]
In July 2015, director Miller and several cast members attended the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con to present the trailer of the film, which received a standing ovation from attendees who requested that it be played again.[80] Graeme McMillan of The Hollywood Reporter opined that Deadpool "looks like the first movie that talks to the fan audience in their own language", and praised the meta humor of the trailer,[81] while Business Insider's Joshua Rivera gave the trailer a positive review for being "faithful to the source material", as well as for its humor and action.[82]
In December 2015, Fox launched a viral marketing campaign titled "The 12 days of Deadpool", which consisted of one website posting new info about the film each day, with the culmination of a new trailer released on Christmas Day.[83] The general marketing campaign for the film has garnered a positive reaction in the media;[84][85] two particular items noted as effective were a campaign to feign Deadpool as a Valentine's Day romance film,[86] and a billboard only containing the emoji "💀💩L" which journalists called "dumb, yet hilarious".[87]
On January 19, 2016, two supposed screenings of yet unseen footage in New York and Los Angeles turned out to be surprise screenings of the entire film;[88] Screen Rant noted that fan reactions to the film were "overwhelmingly positive".[89]
Reynolds promoted the film's DVD release with a guest appearance on the YouTube channel Screen Junkies, which makes "Honest Trailers" of films, costumed and characterized as Deadpool. The newspaper The Guardian described it as "Deadpool cheerfully pop[ping] up to offer wisecracking commentary on Honest Trailer's wisecracking commentary … on his own wisecracking commentary in the movie itself". Reynolds commented that he is a fan of the web series, and that the custom credits at the beginning of the film were taken from a similar section of those videos.[90]
Home media[edit]
Deadpool was released on digital HD on April 26, 2016; and was released on DVD and Blu-ray on May 10, 2016.[91][92]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Deadpool grossed $363.1 million in North America and $419.5 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $782.6 million, against a budget of $58 million.[3] Worldwide, it is the seventh highest-grossing film of 2016,[93] the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time (surpassing The Matrix Reloaded's $742 million),[94][95] the highest-grossing X-Men film (surpassing X-Men: Days of Future Past's $747.9 million),[96] and the highest-grossing 20th Century Fox film not directed by either James Cameron or George Lucas.[97] It had a worldwide opening of $264.9 million from 62 markets, which was the biggest of 2016 (now the third biggest), the biggest for an R-rated film, and the second biggest for Fox, only behind Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith ($303.9 million).[98][99] It recorded the biggest IMAX 2D worldwide opening of all time with $27.4 million from 606 IMAX theaters, eclipsing The Dark Knight Rises ($23.8 million).[100][101] The film became a massive box office blockbuster hit and a very profitable production for the studio, a surprise to some considering that the film was rated R, was not released in China, and was only shown in 2D and IMAX format in contrast to most superhero films also shown in 3D.[94][102]
North America[edit]
In the United States and Canada, pre-release tracking originally suggested the film would open to $55–65 million from 3,557 theaters in its opening weekend and up to $75 million over the four-day Presidents' Day weekend, outstripping the projections for fellow newcomers Zoolander 2 and How to Be Single. Tracking also showed that the film would do well with both males and females.[108] However, once the film approached its opening day, estimates rose to as high as a $100+ million three-day opening and going as high as a $120 million for the four-day opening.[109][110] However, Fox was being conservative, projecting a three-day opening similar to other superhero movies, such as Guardians of the Galaxy ($94.3 million) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($95 million).[111]The film has the added benefit of playing across 374 IMAX screens and 475 premium large format screens.[1] It made $12.7 million from its Thursday night previews from 2,975 theaters, setting records for the biggest R-rated and February previews, respectively beating The Hangover Part II ($10.4 million) and Fifty Shades of Grey ($8.6 million).[112][113] Of that, $2.3 million came from IMAX showings, for a per screen average of $6,200, which is the sixth biggest IMAX preview ever.[112] This broke the record for the biggest February and R-rated IMAX previews.[113]
Buoyed by good word of mouth, it exceeded expectations on its opening day, earning $47.4 million, breaking the records for the biggest R-rated opening day and the biggest February opening day. It also became the biggest R-rated single day and the second-biggest opening and single day ever for a 20th Century Fox film, behind the $50 million Thursday debut of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.[114] Only 14% of its Friday gross came from PLF screens, which grossed $6.4 million, of which Cinemark XDmade $1.6 million.[115] While some films witnessed a drop of at least a third in their second day, Deadpool dropped just -10% on its second day to $42.61 million,[115] and rose +0.2% on its third ($46.68 million).[116] Earning a total of $132.4 million in its opening weekend, it broke the record for the biggest R-rated opening of all time, the biggest February opening, the biggest opening for Fox, and the biggest opening of Reynolds' career.[117] PLF screens represented 13% ($17.6 million) of that gross from 465 screens, setting a new record.[115] Furthermore, it scored the second biggest opening ever for the first installment of a superhero property, behind Disney/Marvel's The Avengers ($207.4 million); the second biggest non-sequel opening, behind The Hunger Games ($152.5 million)[118] — or third biggest if Marvel's The Avengers is included,[119] the third biggest pre-summer season (which starts in May) opening, behind The Hunger Games ($152.5 million) and Furious 7 ($147.2 million);[115] the fifth-biggest for a Marvel property film,[120]the seventh-biggest comic book adpatations opening,[121] and the eighth-biggest long holiday opening (irrespective of the number of days with four days in terms of Deadpool).[119] It became the 36th film to open above $100 million, and the first R-rated film to do so.[114]
It is also the earliest film in a year to open with over $100 million. The previous record holder, Alice in Wonderland (2010), opened with $116.1 million in the first weekend of March 2010.[122] $18.4 million came from 374 IMAX plays, setting records for February as well as for R-rated openings. This is also the biggest 2D IMAX opening, behind The Dark Knight Rises, and the fourth biggest of all time.[101][115] Males comprised a bulk of the audience demographics during its opening weekend with 62%, while females comprised 38% with 47% of the audience being under the age of 25.[101] For its four-day Presidents' Day weekend, it earned $152.19 million, breaking records for the biggest four-day Presidents' Day opening as well as single weekend gross, breaking the $93 million made by Fifty Shades of Grey in 2015.[123] Its four-day holiday opening weekend alone made it the biggest R-rated comic book superhero movie (surpassing Wanted), the biggest R-rated costumed superhero comic book movie (surpassing Watchmen), and the second biggest R-rated comic book adaptation of all time (behind 300).[119][121] It also did exceptionally well in IMAX and premium large formats screens, with 31% or $46.9 million (of the $152.1 million) coming from the said formats. It earned around $27.4 million (18%) in IMAX and about $19.5 million (13%) in PLF auditoriums.[118]
Following its record breaking openings, Deadpool scored the biggest February Monday by earning $19.76 million,[124] and the biggest February Tuesday ever with $11.56 million (breaking The Vow's record)[124] and in just five days, it surpassed the lifetime total of X-Men, X-Men: First Class, and The Wolverine[125] and in one week, it surpassed X-Men Origins: Wolverine.[126] On its ninth day of release, it passed the $200 million mark, becoming the fastest R-rated film to cross that mark. By comparison, the previous record holder, The Matrix Reloaded, took 11 days.[127][128][129] It topped the box office for the second weekend after falling by 57.4% to $56.4 million from 3,722 theaters (an additional 164 theaters from its opening amount) and scored the second-biggest second weekend gross for an R-rated film, only behind the $64.6 million second weekend of American Sniper.[130] The 57.4% drop was in line with the 59.4% drop of Avengers: Age of Ultron,[130] and the 59.8% drop of The Matrix Reloaded.[131] In just 10 days, it became the highest-grossing X-Men film (surpassing X-Men: The Last Stand) as well as becoming the highest-grossing R-rated comic book film of all-time (beating 300).[130] By its second weekend, Forbes reported that the film was on pace to dethrone The Passion of the Christ ($370 million) as the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time as it was already $74.8 million ahead of The Passion of the Christ.[132] It was able to top the box office for the third weekend in a row after adding $31.5 million from 3,856 theaters (an additional 134 theaters from its second weekend amount),[133][134] before being dethroned by Zootopia and London Has Fallen in its fourth weekend.[135][136] On March 5, its twenty-third day of release, it became the third R-rated film to pass $300 million in ticket sales and the fifty-seventh film overall.[137]
Over its entire run, Deadpool's ethnic split of audiences was 59% Caucasian, 21% Hispanic, 12% African-American and 8% Asian. Hispanics were over-represented on opening weekend and opening night, by 10% and 17%, respectively. The overall audience was male-skewed (62% vs 48% for moviegoing overall), relatively young (average age of 35 vs 40 among all moviegoers aged 14+) and more likely to be Hispanic (21% vs 17%). Compared with the audience for the full run, ticket buyers in the opening weekend were 5% younger, 5% more male-dominated, and with an attendance frequency that was 4% greater. On opening night itself the audience was 7% younger, 14% more male-dominated, and with an average attendance frequency nearly 18% bigger than the that of the full run.[138]
These results are remarkably similar to that of other superhero films such as Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad.[138]
Outside North America[edit]
Outside North America, Deadpool was released in a total of 80 countries.[79] It began its international rollout on February 9 in Hong Kong and expanded to seven additional markets on February 10, where it earned $12 million.[79] The Hollywood Reporter called it "no small feat" considering that it is the first Marvel superhero film to ever be rated R.[139] On its opening day – which varies among different countries, it had the biggest Fox opening day ever for a 15-rated movie, the fifth highest opening day for a Marvel film, the biggest IMAX Wednesday opening ever (behind Spectre) in the United Kingdom and Ireland ($3.4 million),[79] the biggest February opening of all time in Australia ($2.1 million), the biggest Fox opening day ever, the biggest IMAX opening of all time in Taiwan with $1.4 million ($1.7 million including previews), Fox's biggest Chinese New Year single day ever in Hong Kong ($650,000), the biggest opening day ever for an R-rated film in the Philippines ($357,000), the biggest superhero opening day ever in Belgium ($270,000), and Fox's biggest opening day ever for an M18-rated film in Singapore ($205,000).[79] Through Sunday, February 14, it earned an opening-weekend total of $132.1 million from 61 countries (80% of its total international marketplace) and opened at No. 1 in 59 of them, with the exceptions of Poland and Malaysia (behind The Mermaid). It scored the second biggest R-rated international opening weekend of all time, only behind the $156 million opening of Fifty Shades of Grey.[140] IMAX comprised $7.9 million of the weekend's gross from 232 IMAX screens, with records set for the biggest February and R-rated openings in respectively markets, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, and the UK.[140] It fell 47% in its second weekend after adding 17 new markets for a total of $84.7 million from 77 markets and opening at No. 1 in all the newly added markets.[141] It topped the box office outside of North America for three consecutive weekends[142] before slipping to No. 3 behind Ip Man 3 and Zootopia in its fourth weekend.[143]
It had the biggest opening for the studio in 13 markets including Australia, Taiwan, Brazil, Hong Kong, and Malaysia; the biggest R-rated (or equivalent) opening weekend of all time in 11 markets; and the biggest February opening in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia.[140] Its highest international tallies were witnessed in the United Kingdom and Ireland ($20.2 million), Mexico ($18.7 million), Russia ($13.1 million), South Korea ($11.9 million), Australia ($10.65 million), France ($8.9 million), Taiwan ($8.18 million), Germany ($7.3 million), Brazil ($6.3 million), Hong Kong ($3.9 million), Spain ($3.87 million), Italy ($3.39 million), and the Philippines ($3 million).[140][141][144] In the UK, Ireland, and Malta, it earned £13.73 million ($20.2 million) in its opening weekend from 543 screens, including £3.76 million ($5.3 million) from previews, which is the biggest debut ever for a film released in February. This is on par with the £13.71 million ($19.5 million) opening of Iron Man 3 in 2013.[140][145] In Russia and the CIS, it scored the biggest opening weekend of all time with $13.1 million on an estimated 1,119 screens, breaking the previous record set by Star Wars: The Force Awakens two months prior.[140][146] It topped the UK,[147] Germany, and Brazil box offices for three consecutive weekends[142]and the Australian box office for four.[143] In terms of total earnings, its largest markets are the UK and Ireland ($53.5 million), Australia ($28.9 million), and France ($28.2 million).[148][149] It opened in its last market, Japan on June 3, 2016[141] and scored the biggest X-Men opening there with $6.5 million.[150]
Critical response[edit]
Deadpool received generally positive reviews from both critics and audiences.[151] Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an approval rating of 84%, based on 272 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Fast, funny, and gleefully profane, the fourth-wall-busting Deadpool subverts the superhero film formula with wildly entertaining – and decidedly non-family-friendly – results."[152] Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 65 out of 100 based, on 49 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[153] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[154] PostTrak demographic polling of North American audiences showed that the film's audience was 64% male, with 90% of men and 86% of women polled giving the film a positive score.[155]
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said the film is "party time for action junkies" and that Reynolds may have found the role that defines his career.[156] In his review for TheWrap, Alonso Duralde called Deadpool "a funny, bloody comedy [that] is the Marvel Universe's biggest breath of fresh air since Guardians of the Galaxy", praising it, among other things, for its self-aware wit.[157] Christy Lemire also praised the film for being "beyond meta" and "up its ass and back out its own mouth again".[158] Conversely, Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two-and-a-half out of four stars, praising Reynolds' performance but saying the film gets bogged down by its origin story, and all too often becomes like the films it spoofs.[159] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times found the movie lacking, noting that protagonist "is not an individual who wears particularly well" and that the jokes "eventually get wearing, but Reynolds is quite good at [them]". He also commended Baccarin on her performance but ultimately noted that the movie is "rife with standard-issue elements."[160]
In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter ranked the film 13th on their "All 44 Marvel Movies Ranked Best to Worst" list.[161]
SEQUEL
In September 2015, Kinberg commented on the possibility of a sequel for Deadpool: "we were talking about the sequel while we were making the movie just because when you make a film like this that's from a serialized source material, you hope that it's the first of many".[165] Fox gave the green-light to the film's sequel, with Reese and Wernick returning to write, and Miller being looked at to return as director.[166] In April 2016, Fox confirmed the sequel's development, with Miller, Reese, Wernick and Reynolds returning.[167]Kinberg and Miller have also talked about the possibility of a crossover featuring Spider-Man.[168] The sequel will begin filming in early 2017.[169] Kinberg told Slash Film that the sequel will comment on events from other superhero movies.[170] In October 2016, it was reported that Lizzy Caplan, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Sienna Miller, Sofia Boutella, Stephanie Sigman, Sylvia Hoeks, Ruby Rose, Mackenzie Davis, Eve Hewson and Kelly Rohrbach were testing for the part of Domino.[171] In the same month, Miller left the sequel due to creative differences with Reynolds over the casting on Cable and the film's overall style, either a raunchy comedy or a stylized superhero movie.[172][173]
