New Report Sheds Light on How (Un)Profitable ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Truly Was Despite Grossing $1.338 Billion Worldwide

Disney’s biggest Marvel hit in years, Deadpool & Wolverine, crossed the $1.3 billion mark at the global box office, an achievement no other post-pandemic MCU film has matched. But new financial filings show that the movie’s huge ticket sales did not automatically translate into the massive profits many fans assumed.

A recent report on the film’s U.K. production reveals that Disney spent more than $533 million making the R-rated blockbuster. It also confirms that the “final costs exceeded the production budget,” largely due to delays caused by the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes. These numbers place the film among the most expensive ever produced.

Because the movie was shot mostly in Britain, Disney was required to file detailed financial reports there. These filings show that the studio later recovered $104.7 million in tax credits, lowering its net production spending to around $429 million. But production costs are only one part of the puzzle, according to Forbes.

Movie studios do not receive all the money earned from ticket sales. Theaters typically keep about half. Using industry averages, Disney’s estimated share of Deadpool & Wolverine’s $1.34 billion gross would be roughly $670 million.

Subtracting the studio’s net spending of $429 million leaves a basic theatrical profit of around $241 million. That seems solid—until other major expenses enter the picture.

Disney does not disclose the marketing budget for individual films, but analysts estimate that a worldwide campaign as intense as Deadpool & Wolverine’s can cost more than $200 million. Once that expense is factored in, the movie’s theatrical profit becomes much smaller.

There are other revenue streams, home release, merchandise, and streaming. But tying those earnings directly to one movie is difficult. A Disney spokesperson explained last year that “there will be other income generated by the production (such as DVD/Blu Ray sales, merchandising, etc.),” and that theater revenue alone “is not reflecting a true account of whether the film was overall profitable.”

Although Deadpool & Wolverine was marketed as an edgy return to adult-oriented comic action, its humor and violent style have also sparked debate.

Hope UK chief executive Sarah Brighton warned that the film’s jokes about drugs could influence younger viewers despite its R rating. “Associating drug references, however obliquely, with humor and cool ‘in jokes’, unwittingly makes drug use seem exciting and attractive to younger viewers,” she said.

The conversation around adult themes becomes more complicated because Disney sells toys of the same characters and features them in family-friendly spaces like theme parks and cruise ships.

It’s easy to look at a $1.3 billion gross and assume the studio made a fortune. But once we see the real spending behind major blockbusters, especially Marvel movies shot abroad, the picture becomes far more complicated. Disney likely made money, but not the kind of massive windfall most people imagine.

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