diff --git a/sanic/app.py b/sanic/app.py
index d2894ff2..0ff98423 100644
--- a/sanic/app.py
+++ b/sanic/app.py
@@ -288,7 +288,7 @@ class Sanic:
                            attach_to=middleware_or_request)
 
     # Static Files
-    def static(self, uri, file_or_directory, pattern='.+',
+    def static(self, uri, file_or_directory, pattern=r'/?.+',
                use_modified_since=True, use_content_range=False):
         """Register a root to serve files from. The input can either be a
         file or a directory. See