The Future
Inevitably, as we have seen with PG-13 superheroes, when one project taps into a successful formula (like 2000’s X-Men), many follow suit. We can almost certainly expect attempts at the same thing following Deadpool – particularly given its vast profit margin. Now that this movie has confirmed the viability of an R-rated superhero, will the next attempts achieve similar results? Really, the key remains in the budget.
As much as Deadpool breathes a breath of fresh air into the superhero genre, a successful franchise opener often tends to be the top of a very slippery slope. As we have seen, in relative terms, in the PG-13 category, box office success usually leads to an increased budget for further instalments. In the R-rated category, however, it is the lower budgets that make the movies more interesting. One of the greatest aspects of Deadpool is that it reminds us of the fact that a movie doesn’t have to destroy an entire city, or demolish whole buildings, in order to hold the attention of the audience – filmmakers can be more creative than that, and still succeed.
[zergpaid]If there is a lesson to be learned, it is not simply that R-rated movies can be as successful at the box office as PG-13 movies. It is that the portion of the budget earmarked for marketing can be more effective than money spent on explosions, effects and gunfights. As obvious as it sounds, your movie can be violent, graphic and foul-mouthed, and it will succeed if you make people want to see it ahead of time. Imagine how different the superhero genre would look today if that kind of strategy had been employed for the under-appreciated Punisher: War Zone, or Dredd.
Deadpool is an R-rated blockbuster precisely because it is something different, and if it makes any sense at all, that is exactly what we need for our superheroes – more things that are different, in different ways – and the R-rated category is entirely the place to do that. Black Widow, Big Barda, She-Hulk, Thundra, Vixen – the possibilities are endless. 20th Century Fox has now repeatedly proven itself to be a ratings-budget risk-taker, and it is seeing impressive returns on investment as a result. Can other studios bring themselves to take the same leap? Only time will tell.
In the meantime, Deadpool has it covered.