Sony’s Spider-Man Universe didn’t fare well overall, to put it mildly, and it’s easier to see why when comparing ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool‘s production budget to each installment of the franchise. ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool‘s cinematic fortunes are among the most impressive in the superhero genre, with his MCU debut in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine helping to hoist the franchise out of a historic slump after the record-breaking flop that was The Marvels. ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine was by far his most successful outing, grossing $1.3 billion to join the echelons of billion-dollar MCU movies, but all his solo films also grossed more than any X-Men movie.
Sony’s Spider-Man franchise isn’t without its own successes. Venom, for instance, is one of the highest-grossing superhero movies with a laudable $856 million worldwide gross. Still, the success of its debut movie did not shield the franchise from raking in an underwhelming overall result. The death of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe was punctuated by its biggest flop yet with Kraven the Hunter, which grossed $60 million worldwide. Sadly, this gulf between ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool and Sony’s movies is worsened by their production budgets.
ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool’s Reported Budget Is Decidedly Low For A Superhero Movie
ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool Was Cheaper Than Every Superhero Cinematic Franchise Movie
According to The Numbers, 2016’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool cost just $58 million to make. This is a particularly low figure for superhero movies, with no MCU movie to date costing less than $130 million to produce, which was the reported budget for Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp. The DCEU got closer to that figure, with its lowest budget amounting to $82 million for Birds of Prey in 2020. This also makes ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool the cheapest of all Fox’s X-Men movies, with the next-lowest being $67 million for 2020’s The New Mutants.
When ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool attempts to recruit Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, he notes, “Big house, it’s funny I only ever see two of you. It’s almost like the studio couldn’t afford another X-Man.”
One reason for ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool‘s minimal production budget is even addressed in one fourth-wall break in the movie. When ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool attempts to recruit Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, he notes, “Big house, it’s funny I only ever see two of you. It’s almost like the studio couldn’t afford another X-Man.” This, combined with the minimal use of CGI compared to larger-scale productions of the MCU, helped to keep costs down for the movie, which Ryan Reynolds remarked in an interview with Yahoo! was lowered in exchange for more creative freedom.
ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool’s Budget Is Even Lower Than Every Single Sony Spider-Man Universe Movie
Sony’s Cheapest Movie Cost $75 Million
Sony’s Spider-Man Universe wasn’t in the habit of making movies as expensive as the MCU’s, either. Instead, most of the movies in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe were produced on a budget of $110 million, with Venom‘s chart-topping $116 million budget still falling short of the $130 million used to make the MCU’s cheapest movies. Nevertheless, even the cheapest movie in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, Morbius, was nearly $20 million more expensive than ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool.
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Production Budgets and Box Offices for Sony’s Spider-Man Universe and ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool (via The Numbers) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Movies |
Worldwide Box Office |
Production Budget |
|
Venom (2018) |
$856,081,053 |
$116,000,000 |
|
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) |
$501,546,922 |
$110,000,000 |
|
Venom: The Last Dance (2024) |
$474,492,936 |
$110,000,000 |
|
Kraven the Hunter (2024) |
$60,011,428 |
$110,000,000 |
|
Madame Web (2024) |
$100,298,817 |
$80,000,000 |
|
Morbius (2022) |
$162,759,437 |
$75,000,000 |
|
ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool (2016) |
$781,947,691 |
$58,000,000 |
This amplifies the gulf in profitability between ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool and Sony’s Spider-Man Universe installments. Venom grossed more worldwide than ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool by nearly $100 million, though it’s worth noting that it cost double the amount to make. ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool‘s worldwide gross far exceeds that of every other Sony Spider-Man Universe installment by quite a margin, earning more than double the total amount of all non-Venom movies combined for a fraction of the combined budget.
Why ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool’s Budget Being Lower Than The Sony Spider-Man Universe Movies Is So Notable
ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool’s Shoestring Success Sets An Interesting Precedent
ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool‘s low budget when compared to those of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe goes to show how superhero movies can thrive on a shoestring. ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool was a labor of love (as indicated by Reynolds’ comments about being given a smaller budget) that pushed boundaries within a genre that was already starting to put off some audiences in 2016 with its predictability. ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool’s overall popularity also cannot be overstated, which is why Venom also enjoyed a relatively successful run at the box office, although Tom Hardy’s own affinity for the character also had a part to play.
By contrast, Sony’s Spider-Man Universe contradicted its own name and spotlighted some of Marvel’s most obscure characters at a greater expense. Still, whatever the general sentiments surrounding Sony’s Spider-Man Universe and ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool’s cinematic legacy may be, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool‘s ability to make such a profitable movie with one of the smallest budgets in the entire genre is one of the most impressive feats to come out of superhero cinema. Now, I hope this leads to the merging of two worlds and that ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool‘s next team-up will be with Spider-Man himself to build upon the inordinate success of each characters’ careers.
Sources: The Numbers & Yahoo!
