With Deadpool 2, it was time to see if The Merc With a Mouth would be able to beat the comedy sequel curse. Save for The Hangover Part II, comedy sequels have a bad history of making significantly less than their predecessors. Ted 2, Neighbors 2, Horrible Bosses 2 – you can throw a stone and find a comedy sequel that underwhelmed financially. With Deadpool 2, there was reason to be concerned that this film would fall prey to the same trend. Sure, it was following up a beloved movie, but so were Caddyshack 2 and City Slickers 2 and those still sank without a trace at the box office.
These box office issues that had long plagued comedy sequels proved to be no problem for Deadpool 2. Despite opening directly in the wake of the record-breaking movie Avengers: Infinity War, Deadpool 2 still took in a sizable box office haul, with an eventual Chinese release of the film's PG-13 cut taking its lifetime box office gross to $786.8 million. Deadpool 2 managed to avoid becoming the next Wayne's World 2 by, among other means, emphasizing new characters like Cable (Josh Brolin) and Domino (Zazie Beetz) in its marketing. Audiences were reassured they'd receive something with Deadpool 2 that they wouldn't just get by rewatching the original. Deadpool is always subverting expectations and that includes going against the box office norms for comedy sequels.
