Deadpool has officially raked in more than $745 million worldwide, passing The Matrix Reloaded ($742.1 million) to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie in box office history.
Domestically, “Deadpool” is poised to overtake “American Sniper’s” $350.1 million stateside gross to become the second-biggest R-rated movie. “Deadpool” has earned $349.4 million in North America, but may not be able to catch up to “Passion of the Christ’s” $370.8 million to become the highest-grossing R-rated film on a domestic basis.
It’s a big win for Fox, the studio behind the raunchy action pic. Most studios shy away from greenlighting R-rated comic book films because they worry that teenagers won’t be able to buy tickets. With its liberal use of four-letter words and extreme violence, “Deadpool” is certainly not for the squeamish or prudish. Fox tried to limit its risk by keeping the budget to a comparatively modest $58 million, which makes the film a very profitable production for the studio.
Back in February, Deadpool shattered expectations, opening to $132.4 million over three days and $152.2 million over the four-day Presidents’ Day weekend. Not only did that earn Tim Miller’s superhero epic the biggest R-rated opening of all time, becoming the first R movie to pass $100 million in its opening weekend, but Deadpool had the biggest February opening in box office history.
Box Office Mojo reports that the Ryan Reynolds – starrer has brought in a stunning $745.7 million dollars across the globe since its release. The previous record holder, The Matrix Reloaded, dropped off at $742.13 million after 26 weeks in theaters. Even more impressively, Deadpool has only been out for six weeks, and won’t be screening at all in the world’s second largest market, China.
In other box office news, Oscar-winner The Revenant moved past the $500 mark globally thanks to strong returns in China. Star Leonardo DiCaprio was on hand to promote the film in China earlier this month.
The news comes as “Batman V. Superman” has scored almost $500 million worldwide since its PG-13 release, despite being panned by critics.
‘The Passion of the Christ’ still stands at the top with USD 370.8 million in the domestic list.
