Credit: 20th Century StudiosWith Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) poised to reinvent the struggling Marvel Cinematic Universe, did the movie come through with its rumored reboot of the franchise? Yes, just not in the way many expected.
Ever since The Walt Disney Company acquired 21st Century Fox and its subsidiaries, including 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios), Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds has been working on bringing the Merc with a Mouth into the MCU.
After a good run with Fox–both Tim Miller’s Deadpool (2016) and David Leitch’s Deadpool 2 (2018) were box office successes with $782 million and $785 million earned, respectively–and a short break from acting, Reynolds eventually got the green light from Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige.
Feige had previously intended to get the X-Men into the billion-dollar MCU first, but Reynolds’ Deadpool 3 pitch (just one of many) gave the wise-cracking Wade Wilson his doorway into Disney’s live-action universe.
With a screenplay by Reynolds, Zeb Wells, Rhett Reese, Pete Wernick, and director Shawn Levy, Deadpool & Wolverine officially debuted on July 25, 2024.
As expected, the R-rated movie—a first for Disney’s MCU—broke records and became an instant hit at the global box office. Prior to its release, the third Deadpool movie broke ticket pre-sale records for an R-rated film, with pundits predicting it to be the biggest theatrical event of the year.
Now, one week on, Marvel fans know just how much of a dent Deadpool & Wolverine has made.
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Following its opening weekend tally of $211.4 million domestically and $444.6 million worldwide, Deadpool & Wolverine currently stands at $590 million as of July 31, 2024, five days post-release.
As Variety notes, “Deadpool & Wolverine is the fourth-biggest domestic release of 2024 behind Inside Out 2 ($615 million), Despicable Me 4 ($293 million), and Dune: Part II ($282 million).”
It will ultimately surpass Disney Pixar’s Inside Out 2 and become the biggest domestic opening of the year. The Kelsey Mann-helmed animated movie recently surpassed The Avengers (2012) to enter the top ten highest-grossing movies of all time. It has previously overtaken Frozen II (2019) as the House of Mouse’s most successful animated movie ever.
As for Deadpool & Wolverine, the two-hander adventure led by Ryan Reynolds (Wade Wilson/Wolverine) and Hugh Jackman (Logan/Wolverine), the global tally in just five days of showings has transformed the box office landscape of 2024, effectively rebooting desire and engagement from audiences.
It’s no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has dwindled in reliability and reputation following its explosive end to The Infinity Saga with the Russo Brothers’ Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019).
After a scattered few years, not helped by the industry-wide shutdown due to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, Marvel Studios posted huge takings with Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). Since Tom Holland’s latest, though, the studio has seen a decrease in box office receipts and quality.
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A muddled Phase Four was succeeded by a deeply disappointing Phase Five opener in the form of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). The Peyton Reed threequel opened to a positive $104 million but quickly floundered and flatlined weeks later.
James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) kept the MCU afloat last year but was overshadowed by The Marvels‘ (2023) cataclysmic struggle.
Deadpool & Wolverine has injected much-needed excitement back into the MCU, rebooting and energizing fans who may have been ready to call it a day with the franchise. To put it into perspective, while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 took $845 million during its run, Deadpool & Wolverine‘s opening weekend takings surpass Gunn’s movie’s entire first-week domestic total by 38%.
Not only that, but Deadpool & Wolverine has also breathed life back into the franchise, giving fans the push to look ahead and hope for positive change in the waning MCU.
This may not have been the reboot many thought Levy’s movie would bring. In the run-up to the film’s release, reports circulated suggesting that Deadpool—as said in the first Super Bowl LVIII trailer—would “change” the cinematic universe forever.
A main component of these theories was including a Multiversal mechanic called “The Anchor.” This element was expected to be how Marvel Studios prunes its own poor performance and streamlined the franchise following a scattered and bloated few years.
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While “The Anchor” was included in the movie, it acted as only a hint at what could come further down the line, with Deadpool & Wolverine having no real major effect on the Earth-616 continuity.
Of course, as Marvel Studios looks ahead to the rest of Phase Five with Captain America: Brave New World (2025), Thunderbolts* (2025), and The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025), this could just be the first nuggets at bigger changes to come.
Then there is the Doctor Doom of it all. Last weekend at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, the Russo Brothers were confirmed to be taking the reins of Avengers 5, formerly Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and now called Avengers: Doomsday (2026), and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).
Robert Downey Jr. was also confirmed to be returning to the MCU as Doctor Doom. Doom will become the new major antagonist, replacing Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror.
Is this the reboot you expected Deadpool & Wolverine to bring? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!