海角大神

The newest superhero coming to the big screen arrives on Feb. 12 with the release of the movie 鈥淒eadpool,鈥� which centers on the wisecracking superhero of the same name.聽

Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), also known as Wade Wilson, is a superhero with healing powers who is skilled at fighting. The film about him co-stars Morena Baccarin and Ed Skrein.聽

鈥淒eadpool鈥� is being released by Twentieth Century Fox and is the newest superhero effort by the studio following the release of such films as the 鈥淴-Men鈥� series.聽

As the promotional materials have made clear, 鈥淒eadpool鈥� is not a film made for kids. Trailers include lots of adult material and the movie is rated R, which is somewhat of a rarity in the superhero world. The film is rated R "for strong violence and language throughout, sexual content and graphic nudity."聽(No Marvel movie, for example, has ever been rated R, nor were the 鈥淒ark Knight鈥� movies or the 鈥淴-Men鈥� films.)聽

With their global success, superhero movies now count younger viewers among their fans as well as the older moviegoing crowd. By including content in 鈥淒eadpool鈥� that earns an R rating, is Twentieth Century Fox hurting the movie鈥檚 box office chances?聽

The conventional wisdom is that a PG-13 movie will do better than an R-rated movie, in part because more people can attend. noted that despite more R-rated movies being released in 2012 than in years past, PG-13 films were where the money was. The comedy 鈥淭ed鈥� was one of the few R-rated movies that attracted big numbers.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e shown you can get away with an 鈥楻鈥� with comedies,鈥� Jeff Bock, senior analyst at entertainment analysis company Exhibitor Relations, told TheWrap of companies like Universal Studios, which released 鈥淭ed,鈥� and Warner Bros., which released the 鈥淗angover鈥� movies. 鈥淏ut with an action film, if you want to make $200 million, $250 million at the box office, you鈥檝e got to get the biggest possible audience in there.鈥澛�

The argument that 鈥淒eadpool鈥� will be a hit, however, is bolstered by the fact that Deadpool is a popular character among comic book fans. Those who knew who he was before any trailers were released are sure to turn up if the movie gets good reviews and word-of-mouth. In addition, moviegoers who are old enough to see the R-rated film and likely to see a superhero film may be encouraged to check this out because there鈥檚 very little like it at the multiplex right now in terms of new releases.

The other movies of recent weeks include the animated movie 鈥淜ung Fu Panda 3鈥� and the romance 鈥淭he Choice.鈥� The action-packed 鈥淧ride and Prejudice and Zombies鈥� is more similar to 鈥淒eadpool鈥� than these others, but some moviegoers may prefer their fight scenes without the trappings of Austen.聽

notes that the R rating may help separate 鈥淒eadpool鈥� from the superhero crowd. The rating makes it different.

鈥溾�橠eadpool鈥� should show plenty of life at the box office, especially if its well-earned R rating functions less as kiss of death than as badge of honor,鈥� Chang wrote.