Joker and Deadpool have a lot in common. They both shoot guys a lot, they’re incredibly snarky, and you can’t spin your arms out at a comic convention without hitting someone cosplaying as either of them. Now they are linked in box office history, as Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix’s “Joker” will become the highest grossing R-Rated film ever, taking a record last held by “Deadpool” and its 2018 sequel. And Ryan Reynolds is happy for them…sorta.
“Joker” is heading into its fourth weekend in theaters with $788 million grossed worldwide. It is expected by analysts to become the first R-Rated film to gross $800 million this weekend, and has already earned enough to pass the R-Rated record set by “Deadpool 2” last year with $785 million.
In Hollywood, it’s customary for the makers of a record-setting film to congratulate the movie that beats its record. We saw it earlier this year when James Cameron put out a poster congratulating Marvel Studios for beating “Avatar” for the all-time box office record with “Avengers: Endgame.” The poster featured the dearly departed Iron Man surrounded by atokarina, the woodsprites from Cameron’s alien world.
Ryan Reynolds, however, had a much more R-Rated way of congratulating the “Joker” team. His congratulations message featured the now-iconic image of Phoenix’s Joker dancing atop the Bronx stairs, with each of the steps labeled with the protagonists of the R-Rated films “Joker” has passed. Along with Deadpool are Hugh Jackman, The Wolfpack, Pennywise, and Jesus.
And above Joker’s head is one simple declaration: “You motherf—er.
R-Rated box office congratulatory posts aren’t like the ones you’re used to… pic.twitter.com/OTy2BqIP4f
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) October 25, 2019
We don’t know exactly when Reynolds will have another shot at taking back his “Under 17 Requires Accompanying Parent” title, but we do know he will have it. Though 20th Century Fox is now owned by Disney, Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn says that there are still plans to release a “Deadpool 3” in the future.