$50 million. That was the early estimation from Tim Miller when it came to Deadpool‘s opening weekend – and even then, the director considered that wishful thinking.
Little did he know at the time that 20th Century Fox’s show-stopper would debut to a barnstorming $132 million, before going on to become the highest-grossing R-rated feature of all-time. That’s quite the feat, and something Miller reflected on during a recent interview with Collider.
Deadpool, of course, blew past just about everyone’s expectations when it launched into theaters back in February – arriving off the back of a brilliantly cheeky marketing campaign.
Here, Miller recounts his pre-release predictions for the Ryan Reynolds-fronted actioner.
Fifty. If we could open at fifty, I would be happy. Because at the budget we were, I felt if we could open at fifty, I would get a chance to make another movie. If it didn’t, then maybe not so much. Or maybe I’d have to wait another ten years or something like that. So I was just hoping for that, and honestly, up until that Thursday when it opened, Fox was only thinking fifty. I distinctly remember a phone call from someone at Fox and they said, “I don’t know what the fuck’s going on here. I’ve never seen this before. I don’t know what this number is.” And I think it’s all due to the fans and social media and people going, “Holy shit. That didn’t suck. Let me tell my friends about it, and they’ll go and they’ll come out and say ‘Holy shit. That really didn’t suck. Let me tell a few more friends.’”
Blazing a trail of its own to box office glory, Deadpool‘s worldwide tally stands at around $760 million – something Miller admitted that nobody saw coming.
$250 [million] would have been amazing. I had no idea. This is ridiculous. Who would have? If I would have gotten up and said, “Yeah. We planned this,” that would be pretty ridiculous. Nobody saw this. No one planned this.”
Buoyed by that financial triumph, Deadpool 2 is now a lock and barring any unforeseen setback, Tim Miller will be back in the director’s chair.