The planet is about to go mutant-mad over 2024’s summer blockbuster starring two of Hollywood’s most lovable leading men playing two of Marvel’s most magnificent Super (or Anti) heroes.
The marketing behind the movie has been world-class and there aren’t many people in the 12-50 demographic who won’t be aware of what’s about to hit the big screen. With a budget estimated to be in the region of $250m you can be certain that no expense has been spared to position Deadpool & Wolverine as the best “team-up” buddy movie of all time.
We really hope that our retailer partners are already stocking up for the rush on Marvel merchandise, but if you haven’t yet or are on the fence, read on to explore the reasons why adoring fans young and old will likely send this movie into the all-time top 10 and send demand for branded Deadpool & Wolverine goodies sky-high.
Ryan and Hugh
Ryan Reynolds is one of the world’s highest profile stars. He has shares in sports teams, an apparel company, streaming services, a marketing agency, wealth funds and software platforms. He is a wholesome Hollywood heart throb with a clean cut image, a loving family, incredible self-awareness and a fantastically quick wit. Hugh Jackman is just as revered. Despite the recent breakdown of his marriage, this triple threat entertainer has acted, sung and danced his way into everyone’s hearts over the course of his long and distinguished career. Not only that, he has been modestly battling cancer on and off for over 10 years while devoting 100% of the profits from his Laughing Man coffee company to support good causes in developing countries. It is impossible not to fall in love with these incredible human beings and support their on-screen endeavors.
Tried and Tested
This will be the third time Reynolds has donned his iconic red suit. His first two outings managed to draw an average of almost $760m per movie. With that level of popularity one would certainly expect similar results for a third time. Jackman on the other hand will be baring his claws as a main character for the eighth time when he breaks out his long awaited yellow suit alongside ‘The merc with the mouth’. If you include a couple of cameo appearances, Hugh Jackman has been playing Wolverine for 24 years across 11 films which is an indictor how popular the comic book character – and Jackman’s rendition of him – has remained. The standalone Wolverine movies alone have grossed an estimated $1.4b worldwide. How much more evidence is needed to prove that these tried & tested characters are guaranteed money magnets?
“How about a nice cup of fuh’coffee?” – Deadpool
Capitalise on the Kidult cohort
Kidults are taking over. Generally defined as adult consumers of toys and games influenced by nostalgia and/or childhood escapism, they are now responsible for more than 25% of all toy purchases – approximately $9billion globally per year and growing. Let’s not forget that Deadpool is over 30 years old now, and Wolverine has been around since the mid-70’s. That means the original fans of the comic book versions of the characters are anywhere between 40 and 60! The result is a dedicated fanbase with huge spending power ranging from early teens who are just discovering the franchise via the most watched teaser trailer of all time to diehard fans who have been following their favourite Marvel antiheroes for decades. Kidults have disposable income and all of them will be snapping up Deadpool and Wolverine merchandise.
Embracing antiheroes
Multiple studies have been carried out to discover why people love an antihero. Without delving too deep into the psychology behind it, humans seem to identify with the flaws and misguided motivations of these confused characters. Perhaps the pseudo bad guys create a sympathetic connection with the viewer in situations where a difficult childhood or harrowing index event started the antihero down their dark and difficult path. Morbid curiosity compels some people to invest emotionally into a immoral and unlawful character’s arc, willing them to succeed in their ambitions because their reasoning kinda makes sense… Such complex personalities are interesting to watch, hard to predict, and captivate due to their moral ambiguity. Both Deadpool and Wolverine perfectly walk that fine line and as a result they appeal to a vast range of personalities.
Dynamic duos double demand
4 of the top 10 highest grossing films of all time are team-up movies – all unsurprisingly part of the Marvel Universe. When they are well executed (not an easy task when attempting to give several huge characters equal on-screen equity) these multi-hero adventures can provide mind blowing action sequences combined with magnificent set pieces and entertaining interactions. With such an impressive track record of churning out profitable team-up blockbusters, its almost a dead cert that Marvel is going to nail it again. Multiplied star power = multiplied demand for merch.
I understood that reference!
Everyone loves an in-joke or an easter egg. In his first two instalments, Deadpool parodied, mocked, referenced – and in some cases, reignited – classic films including Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Flashdance, Star Wars, Say Anything…, The Avengers and Yentl. He lambasted global figures and even ripped into some of Reynold’s own previous film roles. With this latest offering we have already witnessed the Wolverine popcorn bucket, a tongue-in-cheek homage to the promotional sandworm popcorn bucket created for the recent Dune 2 movie. Without a shadow of a doubt, Wolverine’s version will sell by the bucket load (pun intended) and will look perfect next to some of Paladone’s Deadpool & Wolverine products.
Animal Appeal
And lastly, there’s a dog. Its almost guaranteed that “Dogpool” will rapidly become the internet’s next big meme with her own range of branded merchandise. Genius marketing.
This latest instalment in the MCU will breathe new energy into the latest phase in the MCU and the X-Men franchise – further fuelling rumours of a new reboot movie entering production for 2025/26. Disney and Marvel sit amongst Paladone’s biggest and most exciting licences, and we’ll continue developing unique branded Marvel, X-Men and Deadpool products/gifts for as long as Disney and the MCU continue to churn out superhero spectacles for both the big and the small screen.
