Since the dawn of the R rating in the 1980s, it’s been a more limited stamp on a film’s box office prospects. There’s a much lower box office ceiling on R-rated movies than there is for those of the PG-13 variety, and thus Hollywood doesn’t normally back R-rated ventures with the big budgets that accompany your standard PG-13 franchise-starter. That said,some R-rated films still manage to break out in a big way regardless of budget, striking a chord with audiences that spurs repeat business and strong word of mouth.
Deadpoolwas one such film, standing as the first R-rated superhero movie programmed against the glut of Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Cinematic Universe efforts, which regularly aim to cross the $1 billion mark.Deadpool’s success caught everyone by surprise, going on to gross over $780 million worldwide. It was a success story, full stop, but it’s far from the only R-rated success story. What follows are thehighest-grossing R-rated moviesof all time, ranked according to their worldwide box office earnings.
20’The Intouchables' (2011)
Worldwide gross: $484,630,908
There’s a good argument to be made thatThe Intouchablesshouldn’t even be R-rated, as it’s overall pretty clean by the standards of such a rating. It’s got some profanity, though not all that much, alongside some depictions of medicinal drug use. It’s emotional, sure, but most R-rated movies go much further, andThe Intouchablesproves relatively gentle.
It follows the bond between an unlikely pair of people: one an older man who’s become a quadriplegic, and the other a younger man who ends up working for him as his caregiver.It’s sentimental and quite charming in a way that unsurprisingly had mass appeal on an international scale, becoming one of thebest foreign movies of the 2010s. It made most of its money outside America, grossing just $13,182,281 (of the almost half a billion it made) domestically.
The Intouchables
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19’Saving Private Ryan' (1998)
Worldwide gross: $485,035,085
Steven Spielberg’s ode to World War II veterans,Saving Private Ryan, famously lost the Best Picture Oscar in a close call, but the film was a bona fide box office smash right in the heart of the summer movie season. It’s one ofSpielberg’s very best movies, which is genuinely saying something when talking about the filmography of one of the best American directors of all time; someone who’s also directedSchindler’s List,Jurassic Park,Jaws, andRaiders of the Lost Ark.
It famously opens with a depiction of the harrowing landings at Omaha Beach, and eventually shifts gears to follow a group of U.S. soldiers tasked with recovering the titular Private Ryan.It’s an iconic war movie that showcases the harshness of World War II while celebrating the heroismof the individuals who took part, and was a deserving critical and box office hit.
Saving Private Ryan
18’Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train' (2020)
Worldwide gross: $507,119,058
Like the aforementionedThe Intouchablesand several soon-to-be-mentioned movies,Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Trainearned most of its considerable box office gross outside the U.S., though its domestic earnings certainly weren’t bad. With just under $50 million earned in the U.S., about 10% of that worldwide gross came from America, which is pretty substantial foran animated movie made in Japan.
Perhaps that speaks to the popularity ofDemon Slayeras a franchise, and one that’s skyrocketed in popularity within a short amount of time, first being a manga series from 2016 to 2020, having a TV series that aired between 2019 and 2024, and then having several films released throughout the early 2020s. Of those,Mugen Trainhas been the biggest hit, and it also has the distinction of being the highest-grossing movie of 2020.
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train
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17’Terminator 2: Judgment Day' (1991)
Worldwide gross: $515,361,524
DirectorJames Cameronhas made two of the greatest sequels in history, and whileAliensperformed decently at the box office,Terminator 2: Judgment Daywas an event film of the highest order in the 1990s. His PG-13 movies have fared even better at the box office, withTitanicbeing the highest earner of the 1990s,Avatarbeing the highest earner of the 2000s, andAvatar: The Way of Waterbeing the highest earner of the 2020s as of 2024.
Still, the accomplishments ofTerminator 2: Judgment Dayshouldn’t be overlooked, as an R-rated movie making more than half a billion is genuinely impressive (and that’s not even adjusting for inflation).It delivers great action, a compelling time-travel-related story, and some absolutely groundbreaking special effectsthat still hold up more than 30 years on from release.Terminator 2is a textbook example of how to make a great R-rated blockbuster.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
16’The Mermaid' (2016)
Worldwide gross: $525,018,479
Just over$3 million ofThe Mermaid’stotal gross came from the U.S., so just a crumb or two of the $525 million it made worldwide. Still, that qualifies it asthe highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time, regardless of rating… but it’s also a wild fantasy movie, being about a man falling in love with a mermaid who’s been told to assassinate him.
It’s strange stuff, but it clearly hit a chord somewhere and with some people. Internationally, though, the film’s director,Stephen Chow, is probably better known for the similarly wild comedic action films he’s directed and starred in, including 2004’sKung Fu Hustle(a wonderfully strange martial arts film), andShaolin Soccer(which blends slapstick comedy, martial arts, and sports movie tropes).
15’The Revenant' (2015)
Worldwide gross: $532,938,302
The success ofThe Revenantprobably speaks toLeonardo DiCaprio’s pull as a movie star in an era where there seem to be fewer of those compared to decades past. Make no mistake; it’s still a very good film that would’ve likely generated some buzz had it not starred DiCaprio, butit’s exceedingly brutal, grim, and sometimes quite slow in ways you might not ordinarily associate with box office success.
The Revenanthits the ground running witha fairly stunning opening sequence, and then becomes something a little more intimate and even psychological, telling a story about survival and a desperate quest for revenge. It’s the kind of film you’d be tempted to call “not for everyone,” but it was apparently a film for many people, going by its earnings and later success at the Oscars.
The Revenant
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14’Detective Chinatown 2' (2018)
Worldwide gross: $544,068,574
You might not recognize the nameDetective Chinatown 2the same way you might recognize names of other popular crime movies, but it was a huge hit in China. Its popularity was large enough that, for a time,it was eventhe fifth highest-grossing movie in China’s history, and an even bigger hit than its predecessor, 2015’sDetective Chinatown.
Detective Chinatown 2takes place in New York City, and has a premise concerning a strange competition among detectives who’ve achieved worldwide fame. Essentially, each competes for a massive reward that will be given to the detective who can find the identity of a murderer still at large. For as successful as it was, it’s not even the highest-grossingDetective Chinatownmovie yet (more on the “winner” in a bit).
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13’American Sniper' (2014)
Worldwide gross: $547,326,372
FilmmakerClint Eastwood’s storyof true-life marksmanChris Kyle,American Sniper, was an unlikely holiday smash, opening in limited release in December before really exploding upon wide release in January (so, it technically made most of its money in 2015). It’s a solid movie that doesn’t really rewrite the book on how to make a biographical movie, but it somehow struck gold and was a surprise hit; one of those movies that was expected to do well, perhaps, but wasn’t exactly expected to do so well.
Purely domestically,American Sniperperformed better than any other 2014 movie, and that was in a year that saw the release of some amazing PG-13 blockbusters (principally,Guardians of the GalaxyandCaptain America: The Winter Soldier). It was a fairly downbeat andstraightforward film that suggested there was still room for more mature and less action-packed fare at the box office.
American Sniper
12’Ted' (2012)
Worldwide gross: $556,016,627
Family GuycreatorSeth MacFarlanestepped into the feature realm with a raunchy comedy about a talking bear namedTed, and audiences - especially internationally - turned out in droves. Curiously, the 2015 sequelTed 2grossed a whopping $300 million less than its predecessor, and was therefore a massive disappointment. Recent years have seen a slight resurgence for the property, though, with awell-regarded TV prequel seriescoming out in 2024.
It’s pretty simple stuff, as far as comedies go, with most of the laughs being mined out of the premisethat is: “Wouldn’t it be funny if a teddy bear swore, talked about sex, and took drugs?” Audiences did find that pretty funny… less so in 2015, with a sequel that felt recycled at best and kind of pointless at worst, but any comedy - R-rated or otherwise - doing this well is a good sign, given you don’t just want traditional blockbusters always dominating the box office.
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11’Fifty Shades of Grey' (2015)
Worldwide gross: $570,794,950
Some might be afraid to admit or acknowledge it, butsmut can sell, withFifty Shades of Grey’s success showing as much. Sure, it wasn’t particularly well-received critically, but it didn’t have to be to make money and please producers. That’s just how it is. Something, something capitalism, something, something movies aren’t always art and are often treated as investments for those with cash to spare.
Based on the first book in a controversial series,Fifty Shades of Greyalso had a pair of sequels that were decently popular, though this first film from 2015 remains the highest earner. It was released the day before Valentine’s Day in the U.S., so the people behind it definitely knew what they were doing (and the biggest earners of 2015 weren’t released until later in the year, either during the summer or around Christmas).
