If you have not seen it by now, you have probably seen one of the many ads for the latest superhero movie "Deadpool." An unconventional film, the movie is the biggest R-rated box office debut ever, beating out the likes of the "Hangover" and "300." With its success, the film definitely gives hope to other mature properties to be put on the big screen. Studio executives now will have a better incentive to produce more mature content as "Deadpool" shows there is a demand for it. However, how did we get this point? How did a character so popular on the Internet become a hit at the box office? And what does it mean for other properties moving forward?
One reason for the success of the movie, is the respect for the source material. For hardcore fans of the character, this was not the first live action appearance of their favorite antihero. Back in 2009, the character appeared as a side character with little resemblance to his comic book counterpart. The adoption left many hardcore fans furious about the butchering of the character, and left the general audience confused about why Deadpool was so popular. This time around the studio took a chance again with star Ryan Reynolds to adapt the material as it is in the comic books. In interviews with the media, Reynolds made it his personal goal to get the film just right and do the character justice. He has been pitching the idea of a "Deadpool" movie since 2010 and it has been a long process for him to get this movie off the ground.
The incredible marketing campaign did nothing but excite fans of what film would be like, a live action adaptation of the comic book character. The marketing team hit all waves of media, having numerous television spots. A huge social media push from star Ryan Reynolds himself, had him promoting the movie since the first day of filming to the release date. The marketing team got creative too, posting ads to Tinder, and temporarily making Deadpool emojis available. As the film got closer to release, Reynolds would make more and more public appearances as the title character. They even went so far so as to market it as a romantic comedy coming Valentine’s weekend at one point. If a person did not know who Deadpool was at 2015, they would be curious to know what all the buzz was about by the beginning of 2016.
On February 12, 2016 "Deadpool" released to audiences nearly everywhere. The character sported his signature red jumpsuit and fourth wall breaking demeanor and the movie was banned in China. The movie shattered all expectations, not only pushing the superhero genre forward but also R rated films.
With "Deadpool" becoming a huge success, this now opens the floodgates for other mature content to hit the big screen. Mature movies have always been a part of the regular yearly schedule, however now big budgets and marketing pushes can be given to properties that for a long time would not be touched. "Deadpool" had a lot stacked against it, a poor adaptation before, and a smaller audience than the usual superhero audience, but proved all the naysayers wrong.
"Deadpool" will do the same for R rated movies like "Harry Potter" did for young adult novels. Hopefully this film can act as a template for what other rated R films should do to construct a critically positive movie.
