From 'Joker' to 'Fifty Shades of Grey', the 10 most successful R-rated films of all time
‘Joker’ may have met with critically mixed reviews, but there’s no denying its commercial success. Todd Phillips’ movie about the origin of Batman’s greatest nemesis has become the most successful R-rated movie of all time. The Joaquin Phoenix starrer beat out an impressive collection of movies in its rise to the top. We’ve compiled a list of the ten most successful R-rated movies of all time to take a look at the movie’s competition.
10. The Mermaid
Worldwide gross - $554,516,671
It’s not easy for a foreign film to crack the hold Hollywood has over the film industry, but the 2016 Hong Kong-Chinese film about a mermaid assassin managed it. It also holds the prestige of having the biggest opening week of all time in China. The romantic comedy stars Lin Yun as the titular mermaid, Shan, who has been sent to assassinate playboy business tycoon Liu Xuan (Deng Chao) but develops feelings for him, instead.
9. Fifty Shades of Grey
Worldwide gross - $571,006,128
The one film that absolutely desreved its R-rating, the erotic drama is based on the EL James book of the same name. The book series rose to great popularity when it was released, and there was a lot of anticipation for a live-action version of the story. Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson with a screenplay by Kelly Marcel, the BDSM-themed romance stars Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele and Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey.
8. The Hangover Part II
Worldwide gross - $586,764,305
The first Hangover movie, starring Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, and Ed Helms was immensely popular, and ranks a respectable #20 on the list. The sequel proved to be even more popular - a rare enough occurrence in itself - when it released in 2013, as the main actors once again lose their memories of a wild night of drinking. This time, their night of drunken revelry happened in Thailand, and the added level of exoticness certainly paid off.
7. Logan
Worldwide gross - $619,021,436
Breaking away from the ‘X-Men’ film franchise a little, ‘Logan’ was Hugh Jackman’s final performance as Wolverine. Set in a future where mutants are all but extinct, the movie sees a more mature take on a superhero story as Logan attempts to keep his cloned “daughter” safe. Loosely based on Marvel Comics’ ‘Old Man Logan’ series, and directed by James Mangold, the film was a commercial and critical success, and a wonderful farewell to a character Hugh Jackman had embodied for 17 years.
6. The Passion of the Christ
Worldwide gross - $622,341,924
Religious movies are hardly what one thinks of when one imagines R-rated box office successes, but Mel Gibson’s movie about the last days of Jesus Christ took the world by storm. Starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus Christ, the film included graphic scenes of the crucifixion of Christ at the hands of the Roman Empire. The movie is notable for all the dialogue being a reconstruction of reconstructed Aramic, Hebrew and Latin to truly immerse viewers in the era of the film.
5. It
Worldwide gross - $700,381,748
The film is based on the 1986 Stephen King novel of the same name. Directed by Andy Muschietti, the movie sees a malevolent, demonic clown named Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard) terrorize a group of young children. The movie only served to heighten people’s fear of clowns when it released, and was successful enough to lead to a sequel.
4. The Matrix Reloaded
Worldwide gross - $742,128,461
The oldest movie on this list, ‘The Matrix Reloaded’ released in 2003 as a sequel to the Wachowski’s iconic ‘The Matrix.’ The movie remained the highest grossing R-rated film of all time until ‘Deadpool’ dethroned it in 2016, ending its 13-year run at the top. Its sequel, ‘Matrix Revolutions’ was released only six months later, completing the Matrix trilogy.
3. Deadpool
Worldwide gross - $782,612,155
One of the most successful R-rated superhero franchises of all time, ‘Deadpool’ almost didn’t happen. Ryan Reynolds, who stars as the titular character, had made ‘Deadpool’ a passion project for years. The hard work paid off, and ‘Deadpool’ turned out to be a massive success. Following Marvel’s most famous merc with a mouth, the movie’s humour was well-balanced by thoughtful writing and incredible action scenes.
2. Deadpool 2
Worldwide gross - $785,046,920
Proving that you can’t keep a good superhero franchise down, the sequel to ‘Deadpool’ doubled down on its comic-book roots, bringing in Cable (Josh Brolin), Domino (Zazi Beetz) and even the Juggernaut (voiced by Ryan Reynolds). Cable, a time travelling grizzled warrior from the future comes to the past to take out a teenage Russell Collins (Julian Dennison) before Russell can grow up to kill Cable’s family.
1. Joker
Worldwide gross - $1,019,339,641 as of the time of writing this article
Breaking through not just the top ten list but the 1 billion mark, ‘Joker’ now stands tall as the most successful R-rated film of all time. Starring Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker, and directed by Todd Phillips, the movie breaks away from action-heavy superhero tropes. It takes a more artistic look at the mysterious origin of Gotham’s Clown Prince of Crime, with a harsh look at mental health and class inequality in America. Phoenix’s haunting performance made quite an impact with audiences. With the film’s enormous commercial success still bringing in the moolah, it may just helm this list for a long while to come.