Deadpool & Wolverine Becomes Second R-Rated Movie To Gross $1 Billion Worldwide

"Welcome to the MCU. You're joining at a little bit of a low point." So says Deadpool (Ryan Renolds) to Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) in their new movie, simply titled "Deadpool & Wolverine," which ushers the stable of Marvel characters formerly owned by 20th Century Fox into their new home at Marvel Studios. Indeed, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been faltering since the bombastic triumph of "Avengers: Endgame" — both critically and commercially.

"Deadpool & Wolverine," however, has been squarely spared from the effects of superhero fatigue. On the Saturday of its third weekend at the box office, the movie crossed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office. It's a milestone that has only ever been hit by one other R-rated movie: 2019's "Joker," which topped out at $1.078 billion worldwide. "Joker" probably won't hold on to the title of highest-grossing R-rated movie much longer, given that "Deadpool & Wolverine" has grossed an estimated $54 million at the domestic box office alone this weekend. According to the Hollywood Reporter, its total currently stands at $494.3 million domestic and $535.2 million overseas, for a total of $1.029 billion.

Romantic drama "It Ends With Us" briefly knocked "Deadpool & Wolverine" from the top spot at the box office on Friday. However, the superhero flick will hold on to No. 1 this weekend, since "It Ends With Us" is on track to gross $50 million and land in second place for all three days. The real-life couple of "Deadpool & Wolverine" star Ryan Reynolds and "It Ends With Us" star Blake Lively are truly the king and queen of the box office this weekend.

It's little surprise that the first two R-rated movies ever to hit 10 figures at the box office are both superhero movies, given how much the genre has dominated Hollywood in the 21st century. The only reason it took this long to happen (aside from the booster effects of inflation) is that, for a long time, studios thought superhero movies had to be PG-13. This added a novelty factor to movies like "Deadpool," "Logan," and "Joker," since audiences weren't used to seeing comic book characters drop F-bombs or deal out explicitly bloody violence.

That said, "Deadpool & Wolverine" and "Joker" made it across the billion-dollar finish line for very different reasons. Whereas "Joker" introduced a brand new Joker (played by Joaquin Phoenix) who was the star of his own solo movie for the first time, "Deadpool & Wolverine" is the culmination of more than two decades of Marvel movies under the 20th Century Fox banner. It brings in guest stars ranging from Jennifer Garner's Elektra to "Captain America" star Chris Evans' other Marvel superhero, Johnny Storm. It's on par with "Avengers: Endgame" in terms of the sheer volume of Marvel characters who put in an appearance.

Upcoming sequel "Joker: Folie à Deux" is unlikely to call on its own stable of superhero stars, but it might not need to. The first "Joker" intrigued audiences because it was sold as a serious prestige movie: gritty and dark like Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy, but even more grounded and influenced by the films of Martin Scorsese. As a sequel, "Folie à Deux" doesn't quite have that same mystique to it. However, it does takes fresh risks of its own, being a jukebox musical co-starring Lady Gaga as the Joker's twisted girlfriend, Harley Quinn. 

Can "Joker: Folie à Deux" outdo its predecessor? Can it outdo "Deadpool & Wolverine"? Can Phoenix and Gaga match the intense sexual chemistry of Reynolds and Jackman? We'll find out when the Joker and Harley take the stage on October 4.