Deadpool & Alien Have Ushered In A New Box Office Era: The R-Rated Disney Hit

Disney didn’t exactly have a banner year (by Disney standards anyhow) in 2023. None of the studio’s films topped $1 billion last year which, again, is not the marker for success. However, for a studio with as many reliable franchises as Disney has, it’s notable, particularly when movies like “The Marvels” and “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” flopped so badly. In any event, the Mouse House is having a real bounce-back year in 2024, with “Inside Out 2” literally ranking as one of the biggest movies of all-time at this point. Yet, oddly enough, it’s R-rated movies that are truly leading the way for the traditionally family-friendly company at the moment.

This past weekend, Disney held the number one and number two spots at the box office, with “Deadpool & Wolverine” reclaiming the top spot in its fifth weekend with $18.3 million. Meanwhile, last weekend’s champion “Alien: Romulus” landed at number two with $16.2 million. Granted, Disney benefited greatly given that “The Crow” ($4.6 million) bombed very badly in its debut. In any event, Disney has been dominating in the ticket sales game for more than a month with R-rated fare. To say that it’s unusual would be a bit of an understatement.

These are franchises that Disney inherited as part of its landmark $71 billion acquisition of Fox that went into effect in 2019. It was a little unclear how things were going to go, but the company has unquestionably benefited a great deal from brands that are more adult-focused. To be clear, they also had a sizable hit earlier this year with “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” but PG-13 was always in the studio’s comfort zone. Going hard R is not something we’ve seen from the company in some time.

“Down and Out in Beverly Hills” became Disney’s first R-rated movie when it was released in 1986 more than 60 years into the company’s existence. It was released through the now-defunct Touchstone Pictures label, which produced a number of huge hits over the years including “Armageddon,” M. Night Shyamalan’s “Signs,” and “The Waterboy,” among many others. More importantly, it was a label that allowed Disney to release R-rated movies without having to put the Disney brand front-and-center.

Some of the R-rated hits to come from the Touchstone era include “Good Morning, Vietnam,” “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion,” and “Con Air,” which was part of the summer of ’97 ruled by Nicolas Cage. Unfortunately, Touchstone folded in 2016. The difference is, at that time, Fox was still operating as its own studio and was churning out R-rated movies while Disney was doing what it does best. These were boom years for Disney, which peaked in 2019 when the studio became the first ever to top $10 billion at the box office in a single year.

Now though, Fox is off the board and that means fewer movies being released in theaters per year. During the pandemic era, that has been a real issue as theaters have largely struggled to get back on their feet. The good news is that Disney has seen that positive things can happen when they don’t fear taking the brand in new, more adult-friendly places. The studio didn’t force “Deadpool” to go PG-13, nor did it force “Alien” to tone things down. For that, it’s been handsomely rewarded.

At this point, “Romulus” looks like it’s going to make $300 million or more globally on an $80 million budget. Mind you, this was a movie that was originally going to release directly to Hulu like the “Predator” prequel “Prey” did. Disney probably won’t make that mistake again. “Deadpool & Wolverine,” meanwhile, is past the $1.2 billion mark globally and will soon enter the top 25 all time. It’s also passed “Joker” to become the biggest R-rated movie in history.

Disney was allowed to just be Disney and make its hay on PG and PG 13 movies when Fox was still a thing. Now? The studio almost has an obligation to expand its horizons further and continue making R-rated movies such as these. Luckily, given the results, it’s probably not going to take a lot of convincing to have the bean counters say yes. The bigger thing, though, is that CEO Bob Iger and Co. must also be willing to invest in more original, theatrical R-rated movies.

Let us not forget that Fox is the studio that made “Deadpool” and turned it into a gigantic, unexpected hit. Fox is also the studio that made Ridley Scott’s original “Alien” and “Die Hard.” In other words, the studio produced R-rated franchises that Disney is now benefiting from, but that all starts with original ideas. With any luck, the powers that be will prove wise enough to recognize that. If so, this could be the start of the unexpected era of Disney’s R-rated box office dominance. Here’s hoping…

“Deadpool & Alien” and “Alien: Romulus” are both playing in theaters now.