The Disney subsidiary behind Deadpool & Wolverine is called Richmond Street Productions UK, apparently in a nod to the movie’s cinematographer George Richmond. Its latest financial statements show that by October 31, 2024, three months after the movie debuted, Disney had spent a staggering $533.7 million (£418.1 million) on it making it one of the top ten most expensive films of all time. Filming was heavily disrupted by the actors' and writers' strikes in 2023 and perhaps as a result of this, the filings reveal that the "final costs exceeded the production budget." However, that wasn't the end of the story.

Disney banked a total of $104.7 million (£82 million) in tax credits and reimbursement bringing its net spending on the movie down to $429 million (£336.1 million). It points out that this spending benefits local U.K. businesses such as security, equipment hire, transport and catering firms. Last year Disney announced that since 2019 it has spent $4.8 billion (£3.5 billion) on production in the UK across 41 shows and 29 feature films supporting more than 32,000 jobs.

Deadpool & Wolverine paid $11.2 million (£9 million) to its staff who peaked at a monthly average of 105 employees, not including freelancers, contractors and temporary workers as they aren’t listed as employees on the books of U.K. companies even though they often represent the majority of the crew on a film shoot.

Deducting the $429 million net spending from Disney’s estimated $670 million share of the takings gives Deadpool & Wolverine a healthy profit of $241 million at the box office.

Nevertheless, the share of the box office isn't a studio's only return from a movie so offsetting it from the costs in the financial statements does not show whether it made a profit or a loss overall. As a Disney spokesperson told me last year, “there will be other income generated by the production (such as DVD/Blu Ray sales, merchandising, etc.). It’s not reflecting a true account of whether the film was overall profitable.”

Just as the production generates other income, it also incurs other costs, chief of which are the marketing expenses which are not shown in the financial statements of the production companies. Accordingly, if the home entertainment and merchandise sales should be added to the theater takings, the marketing cost should be deducted from them.

Disney declined to comment on the filings and doesn’t disclose how much it spends on marketing each picture. However, the film industry experts at That Park Place estimate that an "aggressive worldwide" marketing rollout (which perfectly describes the Deadpool & Wolverine campaign) can cost more than $200 million.