# Deadpool (2016) marketing

> Fox’s in-character Deadpool campaign preceded a $132.4 million domestic opening.

- Owner: 20th Century Fox; Ryan Reynolds
- Kind: Campaign
- Sector: Entertainment
- Seed date: 2015-03-27
- Milestone date: 2016-02-14
- Date basis: Documented milestone; not a measured attention peak.
- Spread Score: 36 (Niche, provisional), v1.2
- Mechanics: Mascot persona, Transgression, Platform jump, Press loop

## Summary

Leaked test footage helped secure Fox’s greenlight. Reynolds launched the campaign with a costume parody, followed by trailers, rebus billboards, a romance poster and Tinder. Paid TV takeovers joined audience sharing before the record R-rated opening.

## Timeline

- Jul 2014 — Online viewers (Open web) — Test footage featuring Reynolds as Deadpool circulated online before Fox had approved the film.
- 2014-09-18 — 20th Century Fox (Press) — Fox announced a release date after the leaked footage drew fan support.
- 2015-03-27 — Ryan Reynolds / 20th Century Fox (X) — Reynolds posted the first official costume photo, posing on a bearskin rug in a Burt Reynolds parody.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/deadpool-2016-marketing

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Deadpool (2016) marketing.” Case HIS-01361. Spread Score v1.2: 36/100. Updated 2026-10-22. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-01361