When Once Upon A Deadpool hit theaters back in December, there was actually quite a bit of hype around the re-release, thanks to funny trailers and the addition of Fred Savage and a Princess Bride bit. Unfortunately, the PG-13 re-release failed to crack the Top 10 during its opening weekend and things haven't looked up much from there. Here's a snapshot of how the movie has done in theaters so far.
During opening weekend, Once Upon A Deadpool managed 11th place, pulling in $1 million on opening day and $2.6 total for the entire weekend. Since then, it has scrounged together a bit more, and just before its first China release, the flick has made a little over $6 million total, compared to the more than $740 million Deadpool 2 made worldwide.
It's hard to tell what the studio was hoping the re-release would make just a little over a half a year after Deadpool 2's initial release. Proceeds from sales were going to Fuck Cancer, so the whole thing was for a good cause, and since Deadpool-based flicks have generally been gleefully R-rated, it wasn't clear if Twentieth Century Fox was hoping large swaths of teens would show up for this one.
Suffice to say, plenty of gimmicky re-releases have made more than Once Upon A Deadpool has. Titanic's 3D re-release, for example, made $57 million when it was brought back after a 3D conversion. Still, that was one of the most popular movies of all time and the reintroduction in theaters came in the middle of the 3D craze back in 2012.
Presumably, the expectations for Once Upon A Deadpool were a whole lot lower. I'm assuming the budget to hire/kidnap Fred Savage is a lot cheaper than a full 3D conversion, of course.
The release was also only initially in 1,566 theaters, so clearly it wasn't treated the same as a gigantic wide release would have been.
It should be noted both Deadpool and Deadpool 2 were too graphic for releases in China, so we'll have to keep an eye out and see if there's an appetite for a PG-13 release in that country. The flick will be opening on January 25 and will likely contribute to at least a bit of a higher final total for Once Upon A Deadpool.
All in all, however, it looks like the PG-13 experiment did not entice a large number of fans to come back and see the movie in its less raunchy version in theaters. That could be something to think about when Deadpool, Colussus, Negasonic Teenage Warhead and co. become Disney properties.
We'll keep you updated about how the re-release fares as it finishes out its run, but be sure to take a look at what's heading into theaters this month with our full 2019 Movies Guide.
