The top 10 rated-R comedies at the box office

Seth MacFarlane’s foul-mouthed teddy bear of a movie, Ted, has earned more than $500 million in box-office receipts around the world since hitting your nearby cineplex in June, despite its R rating by the MPAA. Remarkable? Certainly. But tops in the business? Not quite. Not yet.

Top 10 Rated-R comedy movies, ranked by box-office grosses

United States

  1. The Hangover (2009), $277,322,503
  2. The Hangover Part II (2011), $254,464,305
  3. Beverly Hills Cop (1984) $234,760,478
  4. Ted (2012) $218,665,740
  5. Wedding Crashers (2005) $209,225,921
  6. Pretty Woman (1990) $178,406,268
  7. There’s Something About Mary (1998) $176,484,651
  8. Bridesmaids (2011) $169,106,725
  9. Scary Movie (2000) $157,019,771
  10. Jerry Maguire (1996) $153,952,592

Globally

  1. The Hangover Part II (2011) $581,464,305
  2. Ted (2012) $498,865,740
  3. The Hangover (2009) $467,483,912
  4. Pretty Woman (1990) $463,406,268
  5. There’s Something About Mary (1998) $369,884,651
  6. Beverly Hills Cop (1984) $316,360,478
  7. Bridesmaids (2011) $288,383,523
  8. Wedding Crashers (2005) $285,176,741
  9. Scary Movie (2000) $278,019,771
  10. Jerry Maguire (1996) $273,552,592

Source: Box Office Mojo (as of Nov. 11, 2012)

If you don’t count Pretty Woman and Jerry Maguire as full-on comedies, because, why would you, then Beverly Hills Cop II and Knocked Up move into the Top 10 on the domestic charts, while True Lies and American Pie 2 would rank globally. This also explains why you’ve borne witness to so many Scary Movie sequels, as well as straight-to-DVD American Pie films. Follow the money!

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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One thought on “The top 10 rated-R comedies at the box office

  1. Again a box office chart that isn’t adjusted for inflation. When you do that… Beverly Hills Cop earned more than a half billion DOMESTICALLY. It blows away all these films.

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