As of January 2024, "The Passion of the Christ" (2004) ranked as the all-time highest-grossing R-rated movie in the United States and Canada. The film generated almost 371 million U.S. dollars at the so-called North American box office. "Deadpool" (2016) and "American Sniper" (2014) followed with domestic revenues of around 363 million and 350 million dollars, respectively. "R" stands for "restricted". It means that, according to the Motion Picture Association (MPA), viewers under the age of 17 could watch the film only if accompanied by their parent or adult guardian. When it comes to PG-13-rated movies in the U.S. and Canada – which are films containing "[s]ome material [that] may be inappropriate for children under 13" – "Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens" (2015) ranked first.
The Rs in Warner
Half of the top 10 R-rated films were produced by Warner Bros.: "American Sniper", "Joker" (2019), "The Matrix Reloaded" (2003), "The Hangover" (2009), and "The Hangover Part II" (2011). The studio saw its box office revenue decrease for three consecutive years before bouncing back in 2021. In the latter year, the figure added up to almost 663 million dollars. That corresponds to less than one-third of the more than two billion dollars the studio recorded in 2017. Still, Warner Bros.' box office market share stood at 15 percent in 2021, higher than in the two previous years.
A twist in a trope with a twisted hero
The two Deadpool movies collectively grossed almost 690 million dollars at the so-called North American box office. These films rely on a genre Hollywood has explored for the sake of its bankability: superhero movies. Yet Deadpool goes the extra mile by adding chaotic, openly nonsensical attributes to the trope. While it remains unclear when a possible third installment of the franchise would come out, the segment itself may have started to lose steam. In April 2018, 40 percent of internet users surveyed in the U.S. said they either did not watch superhero movies or were getting tired of them. Three years and a half later, the share stood at nearly 50 percent.
