Deadpool Is Swimming in Cash After Slaying at the Box Office An unexpected success, critics are crediting the box office win to the film's unconventional marketing strategies.

By Lindsay Friedman

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Deadpool Movie | Facebook

Always one for violence, Deadpool slaughtered at the box office this weekend.

Released Feb. 10 the movie, which stars Ryan Reynolds as the sarcastic, titular superhero, set a new record for February movie debuts after earning an estimated $47.5 million in ticket sales. By the end of Presidents' Day weekend, it had generated $150 million, according to Variety.

Related: Disney Releases 34-Second Teaser of Star Wars: Episode VIII

The opening weekend slayed a number of records, including biggest R-rated opening weekend, biggest 20th Century Fox debut, biggest opening weekend for Ryan Reynolds, biggest R-rated comic book superhero movie ever and biggest X-Men debut ever, among others.

Alongside the appeal of the antihero's raunchy humor, uncanny healing abilities and strength, critics are crediting the movie's unconventional marketing strategies for its success.

At one point, Deadpool had a Tinder profile. And Reynold's did more than his part when it came to promoting the film by tweeting in character and Instagramming teasers of the film, Wired reports. Even billboards were invigorated by the Deadpool marketing team, featuring nonsensical emojis in lieu of traditional movie star shots.

This just scratches the surface of Deadpool's promotional efforts, many of which are too vulgar to be reprinted here.

Related: 5 Subtle But Effective Digital Marketing Strategies

Even Ryan Reynolds can't help but admire the raunchy antihero, promoted on his own social media sites.

What better way to get into the Deadpool frame of mind than take a look at the script, annoted by the character himself?

With posters and marketing strategies like this, fans with a sense of humor would know exactly what to expect. And obviously wanted more.

In marketing efforts, officials took the chance to welcome new folks into the world of Deadpool online. Armed with an understanding of the character and others involved in the saga, fans would have all the more reason to check out the flick.

A sponsored event with a big name is always a slam dunk in the world of marketing.

Taking it one step further, Deadpool creators found a new way to get the comic book star into everyday converstations.

Lindsay Friedman

Staff writer. Frequently covers franchise news and food trends.

Lindsay Friedman is a staff writer at Entrepreneur.com.

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