Featuring content that is only appropriate for adult audiences, R-rated movies are more likely to earn smaller box office figures than movies that are universally suitable by their very nature. This is hardly shocking considering that the film’s mature subject matter literally puts a limit on how many people can see it. Accordingly, the commercial returns ᴀssociated with cinema’s most profitable R-rated outings become even more impressive in this light, a further testament to the popularity and reputation of the movie in question.

With premises, genres, and directorial styles, the wide-ranging nature of the highest-grossing R-rated movies of all time has led to a Top 10 comprised of several vastly disparate genres. It can be difficult to predict whether an R-rated movie will be a box office success, whether it happens to be a contender for cinema’s best superhero movie, or even one of the finest Christian movies of all time.

10

Logan (2017)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $614 million

The quintessential example of a perfect comic book movie, 2017’s Logan is widely touted as one of the greatest superhero films ever made. Chronicling an aging and sickly Wolverine’s efforts to get Dafne Keen’s X23 to safety, the standalone sequel to 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past received rave reviews, becoming the first superhero movie in cinematic history to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Unsurprisingly, considering the buzz surrounding Hugh Jackman’s purported farewell appearance as the legendary comic book character, Logan also proved to be a monster hit at the box office. The film raked in just over $614 million worldwide to become the third highest-grossing R-rated movie in history at the time of its release, holding onto the number 10 all-time spot as of 2025.

9

The Pᴀssion Of The Christ (2004)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $622 million

One of the most controversial and polarizing films of all time, 2004’s The Pᴀssion of the Christ follows the final hours of Jesus Christ’s life, chronicling the events leading up to and following his crucifixion. The brainchild of director Mel Gibson, The Pᴀssion of the Christ‘s controversies largely stemmed from purported biblical and historical inaccuracies, as well as its extreme violence and relentlessly graphic depiction of Jesus’ suffering.

Critical opinion on Gibson’s movie remained virtually split down the middle, which is highlighted by a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer Score of exactly 50%. However, it was an unquestionable commercial mega-hit, earning more than $622 million at the box office worldwide to land as the fifth highest-grossing entry of the year. The 2004 biblical epic was also the highest-grossing R-rated movie in the United States for more than two decades before finally being surpᴀssed last year by 2024’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine.

8

Detective Chinatown 3 (2021)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $625 million

2021’s Detective Chinatown 3 is a mystery-comedy offering from Chinese director, Chen Sicheng. The third installment in the Detective Chinatown franchise, the movie follows Wang Baoqiang’s Tang Ren and Liu Haoran’s Qin Feng as they travel to Japan to investigate the mysterious murder of a notorious crime boss.

Detective Chinatown 3 only received middling reviews, but this had little bearing on its stellar commercial performance. The sixth-highest-grossing non-English movie of all time, a worldwide box office gross of more than $625 million means that Sicheng’s film is still the highest-grossing non-English R-rated movie ever made. Detective Chinatown 3 even broke Avengers: Endgame’s record for the biggest opening weekend box office take in a single market, turning in a whopping $398 million to beat the MCU тιтan’s previous record of $357 million.

7

It (2017)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $701 million

The first installment of a two-part take on Stephen King’s iconic novel of the same name, 2017’s It remains one of the “King of Horror’s” most critically and commercially successful cinematic adaptations to this day. Andy Muschietti’s movie premiered to glowing reviews, with particular praise directed towards the performances of It’s young cast and Bill Skarsgard’s terrifying bow as Pennywise the Dancing Clown.

Raking in more than $701 million at the box office worldwide, It remains the seventh-highest-grossing R-rated movie ever made as of 2025. Unfortunately, while the film’s wildfire success appeared primed to be replicated by 2019’s sequel, It Chapter 2, Muschietti’s follow-up only received middling reviews and a considerably reduced box office return of around $467 million.

6

The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $738 million

Serving as the highly-anticipated sequel to one of the most celebrated and influential sci-fi action films of all time, the original Matrix trilogy’s sophomore effort, 2003’s The Matrix Reloaded, appeared primed to pick up where 1999’s The Matrix had left off. Regrettably, while the second installment in the franchise received largely positive reviews, it failed to garner the same degree of effusive praise as the original.

However, The Matrix Reloaded’s box office return proved to be an entirely different story. The film grossed a staggering $738 million worldwide, rubber-stamping the Wachowskis’ sequel as an R-rated cash cow and eclipsing the second-highest-grossing entry in the franchise by more than $200 million. Regrettably, the fall-off in positive reviews for 2003’s sequel meant that The Matrix Reloaded ultimately marked the financial pinnacle of the storied franchise’s success.

5

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool (2016)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $782 million

Kicking off the most financially profitable R-rated movie trilogy of all time, 2016’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool marked a watershed moment for the superhero genre and maniacal movie-making in general. Led by the star power of Ryan Reynolds’ eponymous potty-mouthed mercenary, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool escaped development hell to become one of 2016’s most prominent cinematic success stories, with particular acclaim directed towards the movie’s action sequences, wicked sense of humor, and Reynolds’ depraved leading bow.

This state of affairs was reflected by the movie’s exemplary financial performance. In the words of the man himself, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool did to the box office what Limp Bizkit did to music in the 1990s, raking in just shy of $782 million worldwide (via The Numbers) to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever made at the time of its release. Underlining the movie’s status as NSFW cinematic royalty, Tim Miller’s riotous superhero outing retains its place in the top five highest-grossing R-rated movies ever made to this day.

4

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool 2 (2018)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $786 million

Picking up where the original left off, 2018’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool 2 pits Wade Wilson against Josh Brolin’s time-traveling soldier, Cable, with predictably chaotic and utterly NSFW results. A superhero bonanza renowned for its incredible action scenes, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool 2 received similarly glowing feedback to 2016’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool, with some fans and critics even going as far as to label the sequel as superior to the original.

While the jury remains out on which of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool outings sans MCU involvement reigns supreme from a quality perspective, the same cannot be said from a commercial point of view. ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool 2 earned marginally more than its predecessor, grossing $786 million at the box office worldwide. David Leitch’s sequel remained the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time until late 2019, when it was knocked from its perch by Todd Phillips’ Joker.

3

Oppenheimer (2023)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $976 million

Earning Cillian Murphy the 2024 Oscar for Best Actor off the back of his take on the eponymous physicist, 2023’s Oppenheimer is inspired by the turbulent existence of the real-life mind behind the creation of the atomic bomb. Christopher Nolan’s epic biographical outing was highly praised by critics, earning a staggering 13 Academy Award nominations to boot. The movie would ultimately take home seven, including Murphy’s prestigious Best Actor win.

Nolan’s movie smashed box office records and set a new standard for non-IP blockbuster movies. Oppenheimer clocked in with a worldwide gross of just under $976 million to land as the highest-grossing biographical and WWII-based movies of all time, respectively, as well as the second-highest-grossing R-rated film ever made.

2

Joker (2019)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $1 billion

Providing the darkest origin story for the тιтular character in cinematic history, 2019’s Joker is the perfect example of a superb movie that most fans can only bring themselves to watch once. Spearheaded by an Oscar-winning performance from Joaquin Phoenix, Todd Phillips’ relentlessly bleak psychological thriller may have divided the critics, but there was nothing funny about Joker’s financial performance.

The film grossed just over $1 billion worldwide, becoming the first R-rated movie to ever achieve this feat while also landing as the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever made at the time of its release. A highly anticipated sequel likely had many fans anticipating more stellar financial returns, only for the franchise to crash and burn in spectacular fashion. Earning dismal reviews, 2024’s Joker: Folie a Deux proved to be a box office disaster, barely recouping its considerable budget of around $200 million.

1

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine (2024)

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $1.3 billion

The superhero crossover to end all crossovers, 2024’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine saw the eponymous characters join forces to produce the most successful R-Rated movie ever. Hailed as a return to form for the flagging MCU, Shawn Levy’s riotous superhero entry was warmly received by fans and critics alike to underline its status as one of the year’s standout films. This was also aided by a spectacular box office performance that saw the movie blow both previous ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool installments out of the water.

The highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine smashed Joker’s box-office record in just three short weeks. 2024’s second-best financial cinematic performer behind Pixar’s Inside Out 2, Levy’s movie has earned more than $1.3 billion worldwide since debuting, an eye-watering figure that isn’t a colossal amount shy of both previous ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool movies’ box office returns combined.

Source: The Numbers