The Odyssey beat Deadpool & Wolverine — and Ryan Reynolds reacted exactly how you’d expect
After his R-rated box office crown slipped, Ryan Reynolds marked it with an on-brand social media salute, plus a cheeky twist you’ll want to clock.
Once upon a time, Ryan Reynolds wore the crown for the biggest R-rated blockbuster in history, thanks to Deadpool & Wolverine. Now, that particular bragging right has slipped from his grip—and, naturally, he handled it with exactly the kind of tongue-in-cheek flair you expect from the man in red spandex.
Dodgy Minivans and Greek Epics
If you missed the headline, Christopher Nolan's new film The Odyssey has just overtaken Deadpool & Wolverine at the global box office for highest-grossing R-rated movie ever. The numbers are frankly enormous: The Odyssey is sitting at around $1.34 billion worldwide. Deadpool & Wolverine, in the end, wrapped up its run with a still-absurd $1.338 billion. Not much in it, but enough for a new champion.
The Odyssey is now the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time, after Deadpool & Wolverine held the previous record at $1.338 billion.
Reynolds didn't drag his feet congratulating Nolan & co. He posted a 36-second video mash-up across Instagram and X, pasting together scenes from Deadpool & Wolverine and The Odyssey. His caption nailed the comedic blend:
Congratulations to the entire cast and crew of The Odyssey for becoming the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time. That is one helluva car.
There's a bit of inside joking there: it references the Honda Odyssey minivan from Deadpool & Wolverine—the very one Deadpool calls 'not a car' before he and Wolverine absolutely demolish it (and each other) in the back. Reynolds’ post, naturally, cleverly juxtaposed Matt Damon as Odysseus tramping through a forest with the infamous vehicular punch-up.
Billion-Dollar Numbers, Different Plays
Beyond just the totals, what's interesting is how each film pulled in its mountain of cash. Deadpool & Wolverine got about 47.6% of its revenue from the States, while The Odyssey has been a real international juggernaut, with 60.6% coming from overseas markets.
And then there's the matter of budget. Universal apparently produced The Odyssey for a (relatively) modest $250 million. Compare that to Disney, who forked out around $537 million to get Deadpool & Wolverine into cinemas and on billboards everywhere. Despite the price difference, Nolan now also has the biggest film of his career—yes, even bigger than The Dark Knight Rises, which topped out at $1.08 billion.
The Odyssey isn't even done yet: China only just got the film on August 14, opening across a vast 20,000-plus screens. The Japanese release is still to come, pegged for September 11. In America, The Odyssey cleared $500 million over its first five weekends, dropping just 27 percent week-to-week, which is nothing short of impressive.
The result? Deadpool fans, never ones to take defeat quietly, are already stirring up rumours and wishes for a fourth film—just in case Reynolds fancies a chance at the record again.