The R-rated movie has been a moviegoing constant since 1968, when the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) created the modern rating system.
R of course stands for “Restricted,” which initially meant “Persons under 16 not admitted, unless accompanied by parent or adult guardian.” That age threshold was upped to 17 in 1970.
We’ve had movies rated R (and G, for general audiences) in every iteration of the rating system. The two other ratings during the first two years of the system (1968-70) were M (“Suggested for mature audiences – parental discretion advised”) and X (“Persons under 16 not admitted”).
The three other ratings under the current system are PG (Parental Guidance Suggested), PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned) and NC-17 (adults only).
The modern ratings system was created in 1968 to replace the Motion Picture Production Code, also known as the “Hays Code” – which had been in place since 1930. Such ground-breaking films as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Blow-Up (both 1966) made the old code seem archaic. Jack Valenti, who had become president of the MPAA in May 1966, took the lead in creating a new system. On Nov. 1, 1968, the voluntary MPAA film rating system took effect. (The MPAA became the MPA in 2019 when they dropped the word America from their name.)
Let’s take a look at the 10 highest-grossing R-rated films of all time, according to boxofficemojo.com. All of the films in the top 10 are from this century, which makes sense, owing to higher ticket prices. To give you an idea of the popular R-rated films from the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, we looked deeper on the boxofficemojo.com list. Here are the top three R-rated films, in descending order, from each of those decades.
1970s: The Exorcist (1973), National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978), The Godfather (1972)
1980s: Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Rain Man (1988), Fatal Attraction (1987)
1990s: Saving Private Ryan (1998), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Pretty Woman (1990)
A current hit, Oppenheimer, has already made this list. It also surpassed Bad Boys for Life to become the top-grossing R-rated film of the 2020s. (No. 3 for the decade: John Wick: Chapter 4.)
Todd Phillips directed three of 10 highest-grossing R-rated films of all-time – the first two films in The Hangover trilogy and Joker. Bradley Cooper starred in three of the 10 highest-grossing R-rated films of all time – the first two Hangover films and American Sniper. (Movie buffs should check out our lists of the top 10 box-office hits of 2023 and the 30 highest-grossing films directed or co-directed by women. Spoiler alert: Barbie heads both lists.)
Here are the 10 highest-grossing R-rated films of all time, according to boxofficemojo.com.
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The Hangover Part II
Domestic gross: $254.5 million
Release date: May 26,2011
Oscar nominations: none
Director: Todd Phillips
Music: Christophe Beck
Notes: This is the highest-grossing R-rated sequel to a comedy, surpassing Beverly Hills Cop II (1987). (Deadpool and its sequel have comedy elements, but are classified here as action films.) Development on this sequel began in April 2009, two months before The Hangover was released. Paul Giamatti joined the returning cast. The sequel tells the story of Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), Alan (Zach Galifianakis), and Doug (Justin Bartha) as they travel to Thailand for Stu’s wedding. Though you might have expected that they had learned their lesson from their misadventures in the first film, things go awry. (What are the odds?!)
While The Hangover was considered fresh and funny, The Hangover Part II received mixed to negative reviews. Still, it became a hit. A third and final installment, The Hangover Part III, was released on May 23, 2013. It did less well than the first two, grossing $112.2 million in the U.S.
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The Hangover
Domestic gross: $277.3 million
Release date: June 5,2009
Oscar nominations: none
Director: Todd Phillips
Music: Christophe Beck
Notes: The Hangover was a critical and commercial success. It won the Golden Globe Award for best motion picture – musical or comedy, besting (500) Days of Summer, It’s Complicated, Julie & Julia and Nine. It became the highest-grossing R-rated comedy ever in the U.S., surpassing Beverly Hills Cop (1984), which had held the record for almost 25 years. Before that, it was held by National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978).
Boxofficemojo.com further classifies The Hangover as the top-rated “bawdy comedy.” The first two The Hangover films are followed on that list by Wedding Crashers, 22 Jump Street, There’s Something About Mary and Bridesmaids. The latter film seems like an all-female equivalent to The Hangover, in showing that women could be just as outrageous as men in going all out for laughs.
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The Matrix Reloaded
Domestic gross: $281.6 million
Release date: May 15,2003
Oscar nominations: none
Director: The Wachowskis
Music: Don Davis
Notes: The Wachowkis wrote and directed this science-fiction action film, which did even better than The Matrix (1999), which grossed $172.1 million domestically. Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving and Gloria Foster reprised their roles from the previous film, while Jada Pinkett Smith joined the cast. A sequel, The Matrix Revolutions, released six months later, grossed $139.3 million.
Lana Wachowsk and Lilly Wachowski wrote and directed the first three films in The Matrix franchise. The sisters are both trans women. Lana Wachowksi also directed the fourth film in the franchise, The Matrix Resurrections (2021). It did less well than the first three films, grossing $37.7 million domestically.
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Oppenheimer
Domestic gross: $299.2 million
Release date: July 21,2023
Oscar nominations: to be determined
Director: Christopher Nolan
Music: Ludwig Göransson
Notes:This thriller was based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus, which chronicles the career of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. It’s the first of three films on this list that tell the stories of real-life historical figures. Still to come on the list: films about Iraq War sniper Chris Kyle and Jesus Christ.
Oppenheimer stars Cillian Murphy as the title character; Emily Blunt as his wife, “Kitty”; Matt Damon as Leslie Groves, head of the Manhattan Project; Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, a member of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission; and Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock, a member of the Communist Party USA.
Oppenheimer is Nolan’s first film to receive an R-rating in the U.S. since Insomnia in 2002.
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Deadpool 2
Domestic gross: $324.6 million
Release date: May 18, 2018
Oscar nominations: none
Director: David Leitch
Music: Tyler Bates
Notes:This is the highest-grossing R-rated sequel, topping The Matrix Reloaded. Plans for a sequel to Deadpool began before the original film’s release, and were confirmed in February 2016. Tim Miller, who directed the first Deadpool, left the project in October 2016 due to creative differences with star, co-producer and co-writer Ryan Reynolds, and was replaced by Leitch. An extensive casting search took place to fill the role of Cable, with Josh Brolin ultimately landing the role.
A sequel, Deadpool 3, which will integrate the character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is set for release on May 3, 2024.
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It
Domestic gross: $328.9 million
Release date: Sept. 8, 2017
Oscar nominations: none
Director: Andy Muschietti
Music: Benjamin Wallfisch
Notes: It (titled onscreen as It Chapter One) was the first of a two-part adaptation of the 1986 novel of the same name by Stephen King. Set in Derry, Maine, the film stars Jaeden Lieberher and Bill Skarsgård.
Director Muschietti has spoken of drawing inspiration from 1980s films such as The Howling (1981), The Thing (1982), The Goonies (1985), Stand by Me (1986) and Near Dark (1987), and cited the influence of Steven Spielberg. It is the highest-grossing horror film of all time, breaking a record that had been held since the 1970s by The Exorcist. The second film, It Chapter Two, was released on Sept. 6, 2019, covering the remaining story from the book. It was also a smash, grossing $211.6 million domestically.
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Joker
Domestic gross: $335.5 million
Release date: Oct. 4, 2019
Oscar nominations: 11, including three for Todd Phillips (best picture, directing, adapted screenplay). 2 wins (best actor for Joaquin Phoenix, best original score)
Director: Todd Phillips
Music: Hildur Guðnadóttir
Notes:This is the third film on this list directed by Phillips, following the first two installments of The Hangover franchise. This film, based on DC Comics characters, stars Joaquin Phoenix as Joker. Set in 1981, it follows Arthur Fleck, a failed clown and aspiring stand-up comic who descends into mental illness and nihilism.
Phillips conceived Joker in 2016 and wrote the script with Scott Silver throughout 2017. The two were inspired by the films of Martin Scorsese. Joker is the first live-action theatrical Batman film to receive an R rating. A sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, with Lady Gaga joining the cast, is set for release on Oct. 4, 2024. Bradley Cooper, Gaga’s co-star in A Star Is Born, is co-producing Joker: Folie à Deux, as he did The Joker.
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American Sniper
Domestic gross: $350.2 million
Release date: Dec. 25, 2014
Oscar nominations: 6 – best picture, best actor (Bradley Cooper), adapted screenplay, film editing, sound editing, sound mixing
Director: Clint Eastwood
Music: see note below
Notes: This film was loosely based on the memoir American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History (2012) by Chris Kyle, with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice. Kyle became the deadliest marksman in U.S. military history with 255 kills from four tours of duty in the Iraq War. As the film illustrates, those tours took a heavy toll on Kyle’s personal and family life. The film stars Bradley Cooper as Kyle and Sienna Miller as his wife Taya.
There is no “Music by” credit on this film. Director Eastwood is credited as the composer of “Taya’s Theme.” Joseph S. DeBeasi is credited as composer of additional music and as music editor. The film also features Van Morrison’s “Someone Like You,” which plays during a wedding scene, and Ennio Morricone’s “The Funeral.”
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Deadpool
Domestic gross: $363.1 million
Release date: Feb. 12, 2016
Oscar nominations: none
Director: Tim Miller
Music: Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL)
Notes: Deadpool stars Ryan Reynolds in the title role alongside Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T. J. Miller, Gina Carano and Brianna Hildebrand. In the film, Wade Wilson hunts the man who gave him mutant abilities and a scarred physical appearance, becoming the antihero Deadpool. This film marked Miller’s feature directorial debut.
Development of a Deadpool film starring Reynolds began in February 2004, five years before he played the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. A sequel, Deadpool 2, was released in 2018 to comparable critical and commercial success. Deadpool 3, a third film starring Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, is scheduled for release on May 3, 2024.
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The Passion of the Christ
Domestic gross: $370.8 million
Release date: Feb. 25, 2004
Oscar nominations: 3 – original score, cinematography, makeup
Director: Mel Gibson
Music: John Debney
Notes: Gibson produced, directed and co-wrote this Biblical drama, which starred Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth; Maia Morgenstern as Mary, mother of Jesus; and Monica Bellucci as Mary Magdalene. The dialogue is entirely in reconstructed Aramaic, Hebrew, and Latin. Although Gibson was initially against it, the film is subtitled.
The film primarily covers the final 12 hours before Jesus Christ’s death, a period known as “the Passion.” Some regarded the film as a religious and holy experience, while others found it to be antisemitic and excessive in its graphic violence. A sequel is in development, centering on the resurrection of Jesus.
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