Deadpoolhas a nearly impossible task ahead of him if the hero is to ever surpass theMarvel Cinematic UniverseAvenger that continues to rank above Wade Wilson when it comes to the box office.Deadpool & Wolverinejust cemented the power of the mutant’s franchise. Not only did the movie reunite Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman on the big screen, but it alsobrought back several stars from past Marvel moviesas part ofDeadpool & Wolverine’s surprise multiverse characters. The MCU movie broke box office records left and right.
According to the specialized box office tracking websiteBox Office Mojo,Deadpool & Wolverineis currently at $1.32 billion worldwide. That makes the MCU movie the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time by a comfortable margin.Reynolds' Deadpool franchisehas a history of success, be it under Marvel Studios or Fox, as the two non-MCU Deadpool films also broke many box office records. That positions the superhero franchise above pretty much all others in the MCU, even those that include some of theMCU’s best movies. That said, one Avenger stands higher than Deadpool and should continue to do so.
The Deadpool Trilogy Is No Match For The MCU’s Spider-Man At The Box Office
Tom Holland Is The One To Beat Ryan Reynolds
The ranking of the highest-grossing Marvel movie franchises includes most of the expected names. Chris Evans' Captain America, Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, and Chris Hemsworth’s Thor all have their MCU franchises on the list, showing the impact of the shared universe’s main trio. However, Reynolds' Deadpool movies top the three Avengers, asthe Deadpool franchise’s box office total stands at $2,855,547,801. That lands him the second spot on the list, but Tom Holland is the star that takes first place, with theMCU’s Spider-Man moviesamassing a staggering $3,920,121,775.
$3,920,121,775
$2,855,547,801
$2,705,339,993
$2,435,016,309
$2,421,720,208
$2,236,871,251
$2,188,142,628
$1,628,568,160
$1,605,638,412
$1,329,282,344
$1,086,779,963
Hulk
$510,605,538
There are a few factors that contribute to Spider-Man winning over Deadpool. One of the key reasons is that Reynolds' Deadpool movies are R-rated. While that did not stopDeadpool & Wolverinefrom breaking the $1 billion barrier, the film benefited from Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine return, multiverse cameos, and an MCU push, whereasthe two previous Deadpool films stayed in the $782-785 million range. Adding to that, Spider-Man is the most popular Marvel hero, with two successful movie franchises that established the character before the MCU. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man franchise also has a nearly $2 billion movie.
Spider-Man: No Way Home Is A Solo Movie Like No Other & More Could Come
The MCU’s Multiverse Saga Helps Spider-Man’s Box Office
Spider-Man: No Way Homewas the epic finale that Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy deserved. The movie managed to unite the three cinematic Spider-Men, with Andrew Garfield & Tobey Maguire showing up as their versions of Spider-Man to help Holland’s Peter Parker fight and cure villains from their Marvel movies.Spider-Man: No Way Homehelped the total numbers of Holland’s franchise greatly, helping it beat Reynolds' Deadpool by delivering a boost of nearly $2 billion, and the MCU movie could have easily reached that mark with a release in China. Thanks to the Multiverse Saga, another $2 billion Spider-Man movie is possible.
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The MCU’s Spider-Man 4 could bring major changes to Peter Parker’s life, including replacing MJ with a new love interest, and there are great choices.
The multiverse will remain a major point of the MCU until 2027’sAvengers: Secret Wars. That allowsHolland’sSpider-Man 4, which starts shooting in early 2025, to include Maguire and Garfield’s versions of Spider-Man again, guaranteeing another major box office hit for Holland. With the MCU already gearing up to start work onSpider-Man 4, the hero is at a clear advantage when compared to Reynolds' Deadpool. Not only is Holland’s Spider-Man the box office king, but the hero will get another solo movie way before Deadpool gets another.Deadpool 4has yet to be announced afterDeadpool & Wolverine.
Spider-Man’s Place In The MCU Makes It Harder For Deadpool To Catch Up
The Wall-Crawler’s Potential Is Tough To Match
When Ryan Reynolds and Tom Holland started their Marvel franchises, the actors were 39 and 20, respectively. Now,the Deadpool star is 47, while the MCU’s Spider-Man actor is 28. If Holland stayed on for another trilogy over the next decade, starting withSpider-Man 4, the actor would not even be the same age Reynolds was when 2016’sDeadpoolcame out. Holland is young enough to go even further than another Spider-Man trilogy, which makes his long-term box office potential in the role too much for Reynolds' Deadpool to catch up with.
Miles Morales is a character who could easily carry the Spider-Man franchise going forward, as seen by the success of the animated Spider-Verse movies.
That said,Holland previously commented about not playing Spider-Man after he was 30, as that could bea good point to hand off the franchise to Miles Morales or another character. Even if Holland and Peter Parker were to leave the MCU, Miles Morales is a character who could easily carry the Spider-Man franchise going forward, as seen by the success of the animated Spider-Verse movies.Deadpooldoes not have that kind of successor to keep his box office numbers growing, which makes it hard for the Merc With a Mouth to ever beatSpider-Man.
Deadpool
The merc with the mouth first appeared in an issue ofNew Mutantsin 1990, and since then has gone on to get his own series and a massive cult following. With his incredible powers of healing and regeneration, Deadpool was initially depicted as an X-Men villain but went on to become an anti-hero. After getting his own movie series starting in 2016, the third Deadpool movie finally brings the wisecracking, fourth-wall-breaking character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is the name given to several individuals who have employed a spider-moniker throughout Marvel Comics. Typically gaining their powers through a bite from a radioactive spider, the different Spider-Man heroes employ super-strength, agility, and intellect while utilizing webbing to swing and tangle up their foes. The most notable of these Spider-Men is Peter Parker, who remains one of the most popular superheroes throughout the world.
