Deadpool’s opening weekend proves that people will turn out R-rated comic book movies.
However, there have actually been loads.
Heres our brief history of R-rated comic book movies, then, and how well they all did…
Here in the UK it was cut down to make for an AA (14 and up) rating.
So, successful R-rated comic book adaptations are hardly a new thing.
The R-rated comic book movie continued to find success in the 1990s.
The movie was much-talked-about, not least due to Lees tragic death on set.
The film made money, garnering over $50 million from a budget of just $23 million.
1994 also saw Jean-Claude Van Damme starring in an R-rated adaptation of the Dark Horse Comics seriesTimecop.
This film made bank, too, with over $100 million in global box office receipts.
And, of course, the Wesley Snipes-starringBladefranchise kicked off in 1998.
By my calculations, this vampire-hunting Marvel Comics adaptation surpassed every R-rated superhero movie that preceded it.
It took $131 million worldwide from a budget of just $40 million, across its cinematic run.
These types of movies were doing just fine back in the 1990s.
The 2000s were a big decade for R-rated superhero movies.
Firstly,Blade IIstormed box offices for Marvel Enterprises and New Line Cinema in 2002.
It beat the first film and took $155 million worldwide.
Ultimately, it was a 15 in the UK but a PG-13 in America.
An R-rated directors cut was later released.
That one was more violent, and earned an 18-certificate in the UK.
Over in the states it was R-rated, though.
DC Comics werent just sitting around twiddling their thumbs at this time.
In 2005, Warner Bros distributed the Keanu Reeves-starringConstantinemovie, based on characters from DCs Vertigo imprint.
It made $230 million from a budget of $100 million.
It cost a bit more than Marvels R-rated projects, then, but also made significantly more.
By comparison, R-rated comic book movies were a long way short of the pace at this time.
Is it any wonder, then, why we dont see as many of them these days?
It was a 15 in the UK and an R in the States.
Very impressive, that, isnt it?
Not as much as 300, then, but still a fair amount.
Admittedly, though, the casual viewer may not have known that those ones were based on comic books.
The same goes for the likes ofFrom Hell,SurrogatesandRoad To Perdition.
This is the decade in which Marvel Studios have really found box office dominance.
The 2010s havent been completely without R-rated comic book movies, though.
A sequel is believed to be on the way.
Clearly, then, theres still a market for R-rated comic book movies.
And heck, lets dream: what about an R-rated Batman spin-off?
Or hey Dredd 2?
Well have to wait and see.
ButDeadpools massive success may just be greasing some wheels…
