Maximum Effort

Maximum Effort Productions, Inc. is a film production company and digital marketing agency founded by Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds alongside George Dewey. The company name is a reference to a catchphrase from Reynolds' 2016 film Deadpool.

History
Reynolds and Dewey launched Maximum Effort in 2018, after having collaborated on the marketing campaign for the first two Deadpool films. They worked on a series of successful low-budget ads to promote the 2016 film and its 2018 sequel, which at the time were the highest-grossing R-rated films ever. Dewey, formerly senior vice president of digital marketing at 20th Century Fox and president of digital marketing at Annapurna Pictures, was named president of the company, and Reynolds is creative director.

Maximum Effort's marketing arm was acquired by advertising software company in June 2021, with Maximum Effort Marketing keeping its name while operating as an agency within MNTN. Reynolds was named MNTN's chief creative officer, and Dewey MNTN's chief brand officer.

Film and television production
Maximum Effort was one of the production companies on the 2018 film Deadpool 2, directed by David Leitch and starring Reynolds and Josh Brolin, on 2021's Free Guy, directed by Shawn Levy and starring Reynolds and Jodie Comer, on 2022's The Adam Project, directed by Levy and starring Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner and Walker Scobell, and on 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine, directed by Levy and starring Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Morena Baccarin, Brianna Hildebrand and Garner.

Maximum Effort Productions projects include the musical Spirited, directed by Sean Anders and starring Reynolds and Will Ferrell.

The company also produces the FX docuseries Welcome to Wrexham.

In May 2021, Maximum Effort Productions closed a three-year first-look development deal with Paramount Pictures for all their feature films.

In August 2022, it was announced Maximum Effort will launch a linear TV channel on FuboTV. The first original program on the channel is entitled Bedtime Stories with Ryan and premiered June 20, 2023.

In February 2023 Maximum Effort announced the development of a 1.2 million-square-foot studio to be built in Markham, Ontario, Canada, just outside of Toronto.

In June 2023 it was announced that Maximum Effort had made a deal with Welsh language channel S4C to show six hours of Welsh language programming per week which Reynolds has referred to as "Welsh Wednesdays".

Marketing
Maximum Effort Marketing has created ads for Reynolds' brands Aviation Gin and Mint Mobile, films such as Deadpool 2 and Free Guy, and for Match.com, R.M. Williams, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. One of the Aviation Gin spots went viral, as a spoof on a Peloton holiday commercial that had received significant backlash, with both ads starring the same actress, Monica Ruiz. A spot for Mint Mobile featured Rick Moranis, in a rare public appearance for the actor, and an advertising stunt for Aviation Gin and Laughing Man Coffee had a faux Twitter war between Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. A video for Match.com went viral at the end of 2020, as it featured Satan dating the year 2020 and debuted Taylor Swift's re-recording of her song "Love Story".

In December 2021, following the release of the Sex and the City revival series And Just Like That..., and the death of Mr. Big on a Peloton bike, shares in Peloton fell. Maximum Effort quickly devised an advertisement for Peloton featuring Chris Noth. Reynolds provided the voiceover promoting the health benefits that cycling can have, and noting that Chris Noth/Mr. Big was still alive.

The company has gained recognition for its ability to produce ads quickly, an approach Reynolds calls "Fastvertising."