What Movie Studios Will Ultimately Get Wrong About Deadpool’s Success

Previous to Deadpool’s release, a friend of mine texted me and asked if I was going to go see it in the theater. I said probably, though I wasn’t compelled to see it on opening weekend. After those first weekend numbers came out, I texted that same friend and said, “Aight, Deadpool, my bad, shouldn’t have doubted you.” His reply was, “and it’s rated R too, WTF?” I countered that by saying, I’m guessing this will give some other studios the license to greenlight more R-rated films, and that Wolverine would be most ideal for that. We both laughed when Fox announced the very next day that Old Man Logan would in fact be rated R (I promise to use my powers for good in the future). This kicked off speculation and (albeit, weird) excitement for what other superhero films could be rated R, as that would straighten the path to a better movie of the beloved hero of their choice. I finally saw Deadpool this past weekend and I’m in agreement with most of the hype — it’s pretty spectacular. It’s not a perfect movie, but then again, it never aimed to be. The action, comedic jabs, and embrace of the profane and visceral are all good, but the heart of the film is what makes the movie actually good and not just a collection of movie trailers strewn together with uninteresting connective tissue (*cough* Age of Ultron *cough*). Yes, Deadpool is rated R and it isn’t one of those films that are surprised it was R rated, it earns every bit of that rating from the CARA. But Deadpool isn’t great be…