I Genuinely Can’t Get Over How Much Money The Deadpool Trilogy Made Vs What It Cost

The ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool movie trilogy contains some of the most beloved superhero films in recent years, with the character’s recent entry to the Marvel Cinematic Universe proving what an incredible box office draw the hero is. After three films, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool has moved over to the MCU timeline and made a staggering amount of money along the way, which is especially mind-blowing when considering the costs of each film. ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool has genuinely cemented himself as a box office juggernaut, and any possible ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool sequels seem primed to make an incredible amount of money.

Budgets for superhero movies have gotten out of hand in recent years, with The Marvels‘ box office failure presenting a critical opportunity for reflection on this topic for the franchise. However, not every superhero movie needs to cost over $200 million, and the 2016 release of the first ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool is a great reminder of this. With lower budgets, films are able to take greater risks, which can result in better films. Still, the budgets for the first two ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool films are even lower than I would have expected.

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool’s Budget Vs Its Overall Box Office Is Genuinely Mindboggling

Each ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool Film Has Been Incredibly Popular

In total, the ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool trilogy has cost a reported $368 million in production budgets, and has made a worldwide gross of $2.9 billion, as per The Numbers. Overall, the franchise has then made more than 7.5x its production cost in worldwide grosses. I find this kind of multiplier incredible; only franchises like Spider-Man come close to performing at this level in the MCU box office consistently. The most recent ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool film has even gone on to become the highest-grossing R-rated film in history, with a global total of $1.3 billion.

Release Date	Film	Budget	Opening Weekend	Domestic Box Office	Worldwide Box Office
July 26, 2024	ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine	$200,000,000	$211,435,291	$636,745,858	$1,338,071,348
May 18, 2018	ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool 2	$110,000,000	$125,507,153	$324,591,735	$786,362,370
February 12, 2016	ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool	$58,000,000	$132,434,639	$363,070,709	$781,947,691

What is incredible is that ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool does not need an enormous budget in order to succeed. After the first film was made for $58 million and grossed $781 million at the box office, it was proven beyond a doubt that there was a viable franchise there that could be made for cheap. I’m glad, however, that they spent money on ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, making it one of the bigger and better Marvel blockbusters.

Why ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool’s Overall Budget Vs Box Office Results Are So Strong

The Character Fits A Popular Niche

What makes ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool’s incredible box office success so shocking is that the films were almost never made at all. Following poor reception to his character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, plans for a ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool spinoff were shelved until test footage leaked online, and the response to this footage suggested enormous interest. Combining the superhero genre with great humor and a postmodern style that was prominent in the 2010s with shows like Community and movies like 21 Jump Street and This is the End seems in retrospect like a guaranteed success.

I do remember that none of this success was nearly so obvious at the time, which explains why the budget of ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool was only $58 million. However, seeing the growth of the franchise, and the incredible popularity that the character was able to garner, audiences proved that they wanted more. With clear pᴀssion from series star Ryan Reynolds for the character – that extended even into the absurd marketing and ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool popcorn buckets – the series became one of the most notable franchises of recent years.

The ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool Trilogy’s Budget Vs Box Office Results Could Make ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool 4 More Likely

More Of ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool In The MCU Is Certainly Wanted By The Studio

With these box office results, making a fourth ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool film would be an obvious choice for Disney. The character has proven himself to be an incredible box office draw and, even with arguments about superhero fatigue being made, the hero has recently proven himself immune to it with ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine. A sequel featuring both ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool and Wolverine could be a huge success, but so could virtually any other place where they might want to insert the character into the MCU.

Unfortunately for Disney, everything known about ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool 4 is dependent on Ryan Reynolds, who has already given so much time, life, and energy to the role. Reynolds doesn’t seem especially eager to jump right back into the ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool role, especially after the difficulties and delays in making ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine. However, it seems likely Disney will eventually offer Reynolds whatever it takes to get another ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool film made, as it would almost certainly be a success. They may also eventually recast the role, although I believe this would be riskier.

Superhero films are set to be a part of the film landscape for many years to come, but to preserve their longevity, more focus should be given to budgets. The cost and result for the ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool franchise is truly incredible, and speaks to the popularity of and love for the character. Whatever Marvel decides to do in the near future, further ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool installments, no matter the cost, seem all but ᴀssured to do well for them. Hopefully, another one is made sooner rather than later.