Here I Go Again

I guess it is the boredom I have at work right now with nothing to do all day, but I continue to read Internet comments and it is shocking how little thought goes into a person’s rant, especially when it comes to comic book movies.

 

A new rumor is going around Hollywood today, on the heels of the announcement that the Marvel comic book character Deadpool would be getting a feature film, that the Deadpool movie is going to be rated PG-13.  If you know anything about Deadpool, which for me is little, you know he is a violent mercenary with a mouth like a sailor’s alcoholic stepfather.  Most commenters have been hardcore fanboys of the Deadpool series who think that Fox Studios is not giving the character the proper venue to be true to the comics with a rating any less than R.  That may actually be a valid point, but from the perspective of the business side, R-rated comic book movies, which are few in supply, don’t generally do as well as if the same movie, minus a few cuts here and there to tone down the blood and vulgarity, were to receive a PG-13 rating.  That doesn’t mean a PG-13 ensures success, but with the R rating, you are already starting behind the eight ball by limiting your audience numbers.

 

The comment I took particular issue with was this (sans editing):

 

“Im so tired of these studios wanting every comic book film to be PG-13. Gag me with a spoon! It’s very lame, take a chance for once! Roll out a ‘R’ rated comic book film and see what happens. You will never know until you try. Look at the Kick-Ass films, they may not have been runaway blockbusters that made huge dollars, but they made money and more importantly, were well received (the first film anyways lol)”

 

Actually anonymous poster (username is James), Hollywood has tried R ratings for comic book films.  Here is what happened:

300 – $65 million budget – $210 million domestically – $456 million worldwide

300: Rise of an Empire – $110 million budget – $106 million domestically – $337 million worldwide

Sin City – $40 million budget – $74 million domestically – $158 million worldwide

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For* – $65 million budget – $13 million domestically – $27 million worldwide

Wanted – $75 million budget – $134 million domestically – $341 million worldwide

V for Vendetta – $54 million budget – $70 million domestically – $132 million worldwide

The Punisher – $33 million budget – $33 million domestically – $54 million worldwide

Punisher: War Zone – $35 million budget – $8 million domestically – $10 million worldwide

The Watchmen – $130 million budget – $107 million domestically – $185 million worldwide

Constantine – $100 million budget – $75 million domestically – $230 million worldwide

The Crow – $23 million budget – $50 million domestically – Unknown worldwide

Kick-ass – $30 million budget – $48 million domestically – $96 million worldwide

Kick-ass 2 – $28 million budget – $28 million domestically – $60 million worldwide

Blade – $40 million budget – $70 million domestically – $131 million worldwide

Blade II – $54 million budget – $82 million domestically – $155 million worldwide

Blade: Trinity – $65 million budget – $52 million domestically – $128 million worldwide

Judge Dredd – $90 million budget – $34 million domestically – $113 million worldwide

Dredd – $50 million budget – $13 million domestically – $35 million worldwide

 

*To be fair to Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, it should be noted the movie has only been in theaters for four weeks, but it is going to be a financial failure.

 

From that list of 18 films, in the case of a Deadpool movie you should probably focus on six in particular.  Those movies are The Watchmen, Kick-ass, Kick-ass 2, The Punisher, Punisher: War Zone, and Dredd.  Those six movies are highlighted because they have great similarities to what fans of the Deadpool series are asking for from studio executives.

 

As the blog poster points out, the Kick-ass series has made money overall, but Hollywood wants a more bankable item when releasing a comic book film.  Kick-ass and Kick-ass 2 are exactly what Deadpool fans are asking for with the latest movie when it comes to the violence and obscenities.  The foul-mouthed characters, especially Hit Girl, were funny and drew audiences in with the first film, but from the drop-off seen with the second movie it apparently lost some of its allure with moviegoers.

 

The Punisher and Punisher: War Zone are highlighted because they are the most similar comic book character to Deadpool.  While Deadpool is much more light-hearted in his humor and by breaking the fourth wall he has a more intimate relationship with the viewer, Punisher is still a mercenary/vigilante whose movies are filled with violence and obscenities.  That is exactly what Deadpool fans are wanting with the newest movie, but these films have proven that is not a recipe for success by tacking on the R rating.

 

That leaves The Watchmen and Dredd.  The reason for these selections is because of how faithful to the source material these movies were, even to a fault with The Watchmen.  Both were not just violent and profanity-laced, but they retained the true nature of the characters.  However, financial successes they were not.

 

Am I saying an R-rated Deadpool movie won’t be financially successful?  Absolutely not.  Movies like 300, Sin City, Wanted, The Crow, and Blade have proven that is just not true.  However, by forcing your hand and making an R-rated movie, a giant populace of moviegoers will be turned away at theaters simply because they aren’t of a certain age.  Producers and other studio executives don’t want to limit their target audience simply because the character originally said a lot of dirty words and sprayed blood all over the place with his swords.

 

Taking issue with watering down the character by limiting him to a PG-13 rating can be up for debate, but claiming that studios haven’t made R-rated comic book movies before is an uneducated rant.  I don’t know why I have become the Internet comment police as of late, but when you have zero to do for eight hours at work any menial task becomes interesting.