Why Deadpool & Wolverine"s Box Office Isn"t The Right Test For The MCU"s Current Success

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Summary

  • Deadpool & Wolverine's box office success is a win for Marvel, showcasing audience love for these characters.
  • The upcoming Captain America film will be a test of MCU's post-Deadpool trajectory and audience interest.
  • Marvel aims to regain audience confidence post-The Marvels, with pressure on upcoming releases like Thunderbolts.

Deadpool & Wolverine is a massive win for Marvel at the box office, but it isn't the best test of how audiences feel about the MCU. After The Marvels' disastrous box office performance, Marvel desperately needed another success story. Fortunately, that story was found in Deadpool's obscene sense of humor and the return of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. Deadpool & Wolverine had a huge opening weekend, garnering $211 million domestically, the highest opening for any R-rated movie. Deadpool & Wolverine recently crossed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, becoming the first MCU film to cross that milestone since Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Deadpool 3's success comes at a time when Marvel needed it. The franchise is nearing the end of its Multiverse Saga, and the MCU needs to get audiences reinvested in the universe before Avengers: Doomsday. While it shows that audiences are willing to turn up for characters they love, it doesn't prove they're committed to the Marvel brand. After recent missteps, the MCU timeline needs to regain the audience's confidence, and another test is coming up that will better indicate audiences' faith.
Related Deadpool & Wolverine: 100 Marvel Easter Eggs & References Explained Deadpool & Wolverine quite literally has over 100 different Easter eggs, references, and cameos galore. Here are all the ones we found.
8 Deadpool And Wolverine Had Success Before They Joined The MCU Close Marvel's decision to make Deadpool & Wolverine was a smart one, as both characters already have built-in audience support. The previous two Deadpool movies did well at the box office, with the first grossing $782.6 million and Deadpool 2 grossing $785.8 million. Jackman's Wolverine has had over two decades of success, with his appearances in the X-Men films and his solo films. Wolverine's last movie, Logan, didn't gross as much as the Deadpool films, but it still had a solid performance with $619.2 million worldwide.
Deadpool & Wolverine is the first MCU film featuring the two characters, but the movie would have done well regardless of whether Disney or Fox released it. Reynolds' Deadpool and Jackman's Wolverine are fan-favorite characters with pre-established box office success. It's also a team-up that audiences have wanted to see for a long time, and Marvel did an excellent job at teasing Deadpool & Wolverine's surprise cameos. The titular heroes are proven moneymakers, so it's no surprise how well the movie's box office is doing.
Related Deadpool & Wolverine Ending Explained Deadpool & Wolverine’s ending is filled with multiversal stakes, insane cameos, and big teases for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
2 Captain America: Brave New World Will Be The First Real Test For How The MCU Is Doing Close Marvel should enjoy its recent win with Deadpool & Wolverine, but their mission to get back on track is just beginning. Captain America: Brave New World is the first film after Deadpool 3, and it will be an intriguing test for the MCU. While audiences are aware of the Captain America brand, Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson doesn't have the same established audience that Chris Evans' Steve Rogers had. It also doesn't have any other major MCU heroes attached to it, like Thor or Doctor Strange, who could boost the film's box office with their presence.
If Brave New World is a great film and performs well, it will be a sign that Marvel is heading in the right direction following Deadpool & Wolverine. However, if it's another dud, then more pressure will be put on Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps to generate excitement before the next Avengers movie. Captain America 4 does look similar in tone to the previous Cap films, so that could be a sign that Marvel is getting back to what worked.
Deadpool & Wolverine R
Director Shawn Levy Release Date July 26, 2024 Cast Ryan Reynolds , Hugh Jackman , Emma Corrin , Morena Baccarin , Rob Delaney , Leslie Uggams , Karan Soni , Matthew Macfadyen , Brianna Hildebrand , Shioli Kutsuna , Stefan Kapicic , Lewis Tan , Randal Reeder , Jennifer Garner , Aaron Stanford , Billy Clements , Ollie Palmer , Chris Hemsworth , Rob McElhenney Runtime 127 Minutes Expand Upcoming MCU Movies Captain America: Brave New World
Release Date February 14, 2025 Thunderbolts*
Release Date May 2, 2025 The Fantastic Four (2025)
Release Date July 25, 2025 Blade (2025)
Release Date November 7, 2025 Avengers: Doomsday
Release Date May 1, 2026 Avengers: Secret Wars
Release Date May 7, 2027

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