Deadpool & Wolverine has so far grossed a massive $1.086 billion at the worldwide box office and shows no sign of slowing down. In contrast to The Marvels, for example, the movie's marketing campaign has been incredible and no doubt helped to massively increase interest in an already very exciting movie.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the threequel's brand partnerships are valued at $135 million, while Disney spent upwards of $100 million on marketing (the norm for a summer blockbuster).
Ryan Reynolds was at the forefront of that along with his own marketing company, Maximum Effort.
The actor says, "To me, the biggest challenge was avoiding the more R-rated marketing instincts of Deadpool. The marketing was meant to feel all-audience audience as opposed to leaning into a specific comedy, action or superhero genre."
"The selection of collaborations sent a message about how broad we wanted to go - Heinz, Dave&Busters, NatGeo, TCM, and Bachelorette - but so did the way we wrote them, which was playful but not third rail."
"We didn’t get everyone on our list, but we got enough and then added others we weren’t expecting," Reynolds added, confirming he collaborated with Disney's President of Marketing Asad Ayaz, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, and filmmaker Shawn Levy on that process. "It is unusual for an R-rated film, but we were always aiming for four-quadrant coverage - even though the film wasn’t exactly 'safe.'"
The Deadpool & Wolverine star also broke his silence on the decision not to show Hugh Jackman's Wolverine in the first Super Bowl TV spot/trailer. It was a move which heightened anticipation for the eventual reveal, similar to how we didn't see Logan's mask until sitting down to watch the movie in theaters.
"I’m glad we resisted the urge to reveal Hugh in the Super Bowl trailer," Reynolds said. "You never get that first impression back and it created more anticipation than any of us might have guessed. I’m glad this whole team knows the lesson from Jaws: What you don’t see is more provocative."
Marvel Studios Director of Visual Development Andy Park has also shared the updated cover art for Deadpool & Wolverine's upcoming "Art of" book which you can take a closer look at below.
Shawn Levy directs Deadpool & Wolverine, which stars Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, Matthew Macfadyen, and Dafne Keen. The movie is written by Ryan Reynolds & Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick & Zeb Wells & Shawn Levy.
Kevin Feige, Reynolds, Levy and Lauren Shuler Donner produce with Louis D’Esposito, Wendy Jacobson, Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, George Dewey, Simon Kinberg and Jonathon Komack Martin serving as executive producers.
Deadpool & Wolverine is now playing in theaters.