Ryan Reynolds, the likable and adaptable actor best known for playing the popular antihero Deadpool, has experienced both success and failure in the entertainment industry. Although his career has flourished in recent years, he seemed to struggle.
Reynolds had a rough year at the box office in 2015, with several flops and one film, The Voices, grossing only $5,000 in the United States. Even with a star like Reynolds at the helm, this disaster film flopped at the box office, demonstrating once again the volatile nature of the film business.
The Voices: A Box Office Catastrophe
In the Marjane Satrapi film The Voices, Ryan Reynolds portrayed Jerry Hickfang, a mentally disturbed factory worker. Hickfang begins to hear voices from his pets, encouraging him to engage in disturbing acts. Although the film’s premise was intriguing and Reynolds’ undeniable talent, it had difficulty breaking even at the box office.
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The film The Voices was a financial flop, earning only $5,000 in the United States and $2.2 million worldwide. While the budget for The Voices is a mystery, it’s safe to assume that it wasn’t small, given the film’s production values and Reynolds’ involvement.
This further supports the idea that the film experienced substantial financial losses and was a box-office failure. Reynolds, who had been trying to prove himself as a leading man after a string of lackluster films, took a hit when The Voices bombed at the box office.
Even though The Voices was panned by critics and bombed at the box office, Reynolds’ career must be considered to understand the ups and downs he has faced fully. Reynolds had already experienced success with Woman in Gold before The Voices was released that same year.
From Bombs to Blockbusters: Ryan Reynolds’ Rollercoaster Career
The true-life drama, in which Reynolds and Helen Mirren starred, grossed $58 million worldwide on a budget of only $11 million. The release of Self/Less later that year only added to Reynolds’ bad fortune.
With only $33 million in revenue, this science fiction thriller failed to break even on its $26 million production budget. The year ended with Mississippi Grind, another underperforming film that made just $448,641 worldwide.
Reynolds’ career could have been doomed after a string of flops, but nobody could have predicted the massive turnaround that was about to occur. Ryan Reynolds’ career took off again in 2016 after the release of Deadpool, a superhero movie that tore down preconceived notions of the genre.
Fans were dissatisfied with Reynolds’ portrayal of Deadpool in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, in which he portrayed a different character version. Seven years later, however, the stand-alone Deadpool film was a huge success.
With an opening weekend of $132 million, Deadpool broke all box office records and became the highest-grossing R-rated film ever. The film’s $363 million domestic and $784 million worldwide gross more than covered its $58 million production budget.
In addition to establishing Reynolds as a true A-lister, the success of Deadpool also highlighted his comic timing and ability to give depth to otherwise flat characters. Deadpool 2 was released in 2018 and quickly surpassed the first film as Ryan Reynolds’ highest-grossing film worldwide.
The film’s $110 million budget was more than covered by its $324 million domestic and $786 million international take. It established Reynolds as a major movie star and the Deadpool series as a financial powerhouse.
Despite the absence of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and the R rating that undoubtedly reduced its potential audience, the Deadpool movies still outperformed their X-Men counterparts. Both Deadpool movies did better at the box office than X-Men: Days of Future Past did in 2014, which is a testament to the franchise’s popularity and success.
Source: The Numbers
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