Bradley Cooper starred in three of them.
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 theMotion 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 theMPAAin 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.
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 beforeThe Hangoverwas 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 toThailandfor 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.
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 theGolden 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.
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 thisscience-fictionaction film, which did even better than The Matrix (1999), which grossed $172.1 million domestically. Keanu Reeves,Laurence Fishburne,Carrie-Anne Moss,Hugo Weaving andGloria Fosterreprised their roles from the previous film, whileJada Pinkett Smithjoined the cast. A sequel, The Matrix Revolutions, released six months later, grossed $139.3 million.
Lana WachowskandLilly Wachowskiwrote and directed the first three films in The Matrix franchise.The sisters are bothtrans 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.
Oppenheimer
Domestic gross: $299.2 million
Release date: July 21,2023
Oscar nominations: to be determined
Director: Christopher Nolan
Music: Ludwig Göransson
Notes:Thisthriller was based on the 2005 biographyAmerican Prometheus, which chronicles the career of theoretical physicistJ. 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 starsCillian Murphyas thetitle character; Emily Bluntas his wife,“Kitty”;Matt Damonas Leslie Groves, head of the Manhattan Project;Robert Downey Jr.asLewis Strauss, a member of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission; andFlorence PughasJean Tatlock, a member of the Communist Party USA.
Oppenheimeris Nolan’s first film to receive anR-ratingin the U.S. sinceInsomniain 2002.
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 toDeadpoolbegan 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 theMarvel Cinematic Universe, is set for release on May 3, 2024.
It
Domestic gross: $328.9 million
Release date: Sept. 8, 2017
Oscar nominations: none
Director: Andy Muschietti
Music: Benjamin Wallfisch
Notes: It(titled onscreen asIt Chapter One) was the first of a two-part adaptation of the1986 novel of the same namebyStephen King. Set inDerry, Maine, the film starsJaeden LieberherandBill Skarsgård.
Director Muschietti has spoken of drawing inspiration from1980s filmssuch asThe Howling(1981),The Thing(1982),The Goonies(1985),Stand by Me(1986) andNear Dark(1987), and cited the influence ofSteven Spielberg. It is thehighest-grossing horror filmof 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.
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 onDC Comicscharacters, starsJoaquin PhoenixasJoker. Set in 1981, it follows Arthur Fleck, a failed clown and aspiring stand-up comic who descends into mental illness andnihilism.
Phillips conceivedJokerin 2016 and wrote the script with Scott Silver throughout 2017. The two were inspired by the films ofMartin Scorsese. Jokeris the first live-actiontheatricalBatmanfilmto receive anR 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.
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 memoirAmerican Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History(2012) byChris Kyle, with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice. Kyle became the deadliestmarksmanin U.S. military history with 255 kills from four tours of duty in theIraq 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 andSienna Milleras his wifeTaya.
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.”
Deadpool
Domestic gross: $363.1 million
Release date: Feb. 12, 2016
Oscar nominations: none
Director: Tim Miller
Music: Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL)
Notes: DeadpoolstarsRyan Reynoldsin the title role alongsideMorena Baccarin,Ed Skrein,T. J. Miller,Gina Carano andBrianna Hildebrand. In the film, Wade Wilson hunts the man who gave himmutantabilities and a scarred physical appearance, becoming theantiheroDeadpool. 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 inX-Men Origins: Wolverine. A sequel,Deadpool 2, was released in 2018 to comparable critical and commercial success. Deadpool 3, a third film starring Reynolds andHugh Jackman, is scheduled for release on May 3, 2024.
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 thisBiblicaldrama, which starredJim CaviezelasJesus of Nazareth;Maia MorgensternasMary, mother of Jesus; andMonica BellucciasMary Magdalene. The dialogue is entirely in reconstructedAramaic,Hebrew, andLatin. 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 beantisemiticand excessive in its graphic violence. Asequelis in development, centering on the resurrection of Jesus.
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