Disney's 'Deadpool & Wolverine' becomes the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time

The trio of Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman and Shawn Levy has captured lightning in a bottle with "Deadpool & Wolverine."

As of Thursday, the Disney and Marvel film is the highest-grossing R-rated title of all time, surpassing Warner Bros.' "Joker."

With $516.8 million in domestic ticket sales and $568.8 million from international audiences, "Deadpool & Wolverine" has exceeded $1.085 billion globally. Of note, a sequel to "Joker" arrives in theaters this October.

The feat not only showcases the Marvel Cinematic Universe's durability at the box office after a series of recent misfires, but it also suggests that Marvel Studios can delve into darker content in the future without alienating moviegoers.

"The success of their first R-rated film opens up a lot of opportunities for Disney and Marvel," said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory. "It's important to remember that the rating was organic and necessary for the characters. That's helped audiences and fans respond so favorably. They knew going in that this wouldn't be a watered-down translation of a formula which has already proven itself."

The previous Deadpool films were produced through 20th Century Fox and held R-ratings as well. When the Merc with a Mouth transitioned to Disney's ownership in 2019, it was unclear if the company would embrace his fourth wall-breaking crudeness or leave him on the shelf while producing other Marvel projects.

So when Marvel head Kevin Feige revealed in 2021 that a third Deadpool feature would retain its R-rating, there was a collective sigh of relief from the MCU fan community. Additionally, Marvel gave Reynolds and Levy leeway to poke fun at company executives, the franchise as a whole and even use the iconic "Frozen" line,