America’s entertainment industry trades are splattered with headlines all screaming the same sentiment: ‘Deadpool & Wolverine obliterates R-rated record’.

Which is to say, this gigantic superhero movie, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, with a rating usually associated with movies patronised by gentlemen in black raincoats, has somehow become the biggest thing in Hollywood.

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in Deadpool & Wolverine.Credit: 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios

Like most film industry accounting, however, the devil is in the detail. Which is not to say Deadpool & Wolverine is not a hit. It’s a monstrously gargantuan one, having pulled in a quarter of a billion dollars in days and likely to keep going like a money-earing tornado.

The devilish detail lies in exactly what makes a movie R-rated, and who can see it.

“Disney probably doesn’t want me to frame it this way, but I’ve always thought of Deadpool & Wolverine as the first four-quadrant, R-rated film,” one of its stars, actor Ryan Reynolds, said on Sunday.

“Yes, it’s rated R, but we set out to make a movie with enough laughs, action and heart to appeal to everyone, whether you’re a comic book movie fan or not.”

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have a hit on their hands with Deadpool & Wolverine.Credit: Getty

“Four-quadrant” is one of those deliciously sensible Hollywood phrases which refers to the four key audience demographics: men and women, and the under-25 and over-25........

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