When discussing superhero films, the conversations are often centered around how much they cost to make, their success (or lack thereof) at the box office, and what plot points may serve as clues toward the future. In Deadpool & Wolverine's case, the conversation has shifted from nerdom excitement to the project's worth in terms of government tax policies. It might not have been on anyone's 2025 bingo card, but the movie has become an unlikely spark for a tax-related controversy in the UK.
A report was recently published by Forbes, The Standard and That Park Place, which revealed Deadpool & Wolverine's immense budget. Per The Standard, the film carried a price tag of approximately £418.1 million, or an estimated $533.7 million USD. However, the production is said to have been granted £60.9 million in tax credits, with an additional sum of £21.1 million from 2023, totaling £82 million—or approximately $104.7 million USD—in incentives.
That took the movie's budget down to an estimated $429 million. This, the outlet says, is the largest tax credit paid out to a studio in a single year since the UK introduced its tax-credit incentives in 2007. Put into perspective by the publication, the amount granted to Deadpool & Wolverine is said to be enough to cover the cost of 4,227 hip operations or 61 MRI machines.
This has led to a debate regarding tax resources paid out to large-scale productions, particularly to ones stemming from a studio as powerful as Disney. The credit has reportedly incited frustration from campaigners, given an "unexpected rise in the government's energy price cap" and forthcoming tax hikes. Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance John O'Connell said the following about the credit given to the Deadpool threequel:
"It's extraordinary that at a time when the tax burden is squeezing ordinary families, ministers are handing tens of millions of pounds to one of the world’s most profitable corporations to make a superhero film. These subsidies should be scrapped or tightly capped. Taxpayers' money should be used to fix public services, not boost the balance sheets of global entertainment giants."
Tax lawyer Dan Neidle, of Tax Policy, further stated that, though tax credits are beneficial to the entertainment industry, to him, its value to the United Kingdom is not that well defined: "The current film tax credit rules are clearly important to the film industry, but it's unclear to me whether they're value for money for the UK as a whole." Per The Standard, 2013 government filings stated the incentives were, "not expected to have significant wider macroeconomic impacts." Note that the cited filing is 12 years old.
The United Kingdom has been an attractive prospect for multiple Hollywood productions, particularly for Disney ones. The current outcry seems relatively contained. Yet, should it continues to escalate, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for it to incite a change in tax policies. If that were to happen, it would be interesting to see how Hollywood would adapt to such an outcome.
Of course, a major shift lke that would require a considerable amount of time to take effect. As such, it doesn't look like Hollywood will be forced to adapt to any changes in the near future.
Deadpool & Wolverine is available to stream on Disney+.