Deadpool & Wolverine becomes highest grossing R-rated movie in history

LOS ANGELES

Deadpool & Wolverine has become the highest-grossing R-rated movie in history, surpassing Warner Bros.' Joker in 2019.

After the movie posted a $205 million opening in the US three weeks ago – a record for an R-rated film, it tallied $516.8 million in domestic ticket sales.

Combined with $568.8 million internationally, it exceeded $1.085 billion as of Thursday.

The movie, starring Canadian and American actor Ryan Reynolds and Australian actor Hugh Jackman, is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Produced by Marvel Studios, it is the 34th film in the MCU, a sequel to Deadpool in 2016 and Deadpool 2 in 2018, in which Reynolds was one of the producers.

The film is the 10th time Jackman portrays the superhero Wolverine.

Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Robert De Niro, saw just shy of $1.08 billion with nearly $335.5 million domestically and almost $743.5 million internationally.

A sequel to the 2019 movie, Joker: Folie à Deux, will hit theaters Oct. 4. While Phoenix reprises his role as Arthur Fleck, Lady Gaga will star as Harley Quinn.