You know what the easiest way to add 10-20 million dollars onto the domestic box office gross of a horror film is?
Make it PG-13.
It’s why the R-rated horror film has disappeared as a staple of American cinema for the most part. It’s easier to cut back on the gore, and language, and wind up making the same basic film but with a substantially much larger audience. Throw in the ability to add all those back in for an “unrated” cut on DVD and studios have been able to use these margins to make cheap, slickly marketed horror films that can open in 2,000 theaters with enough of an audience to make a profit.
So it’s odd to see Deadpool 2 rechristened into Once Upon a Deadpool, a re-cut of the successful 2018 film into a PG-13 film. Audiences were, as well, as the film didn’t quite resonate with audiences like the original cut of the film did.
With a new ending and all of the profanity, blood and accoutrement taken down enough to qualify for a PG-13 rating, Once upon a Deadpool is a cash grab that didn’t grab much cash.
Did you see Deadpool 2? Did you enjoy it? This takes it down to something you might be able to let a young teenager watch… and nothing more. Wait for it to go into the bin at Wal-Mart.
None.
20th Century Fox presents Once Upon a Deadpool Directed by David Leitch. Written by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick, and Ryan Reynolds. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Zazie Beetz, Julian Dennison, Stefan Kapicic, Brianna Hildebrand, Karan Soni, Leslie Uggams, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Terry Crews. Run Time: 119 minutes Rated PG-13. Released on DVD:
