TheLabor Day weekendis delivering multiple box office milestones. Not only hasoverall revenue for the summer passed the $4 billion markfor the first time since pre-pandemic 2019, the two major contributors to that feat —Greta Gerwig’sBarbieandChristopher Nolan’sOppenheimer— are passing their own personal milestones as well.Barbiefinally overtookThe Super Mario Bros. Movieto becomethe year’s biggest hit at the global box office, while simultaneously passing the $600 million mark domestically.Oppenheimer, meanwhile, has now overtaken a slew of superhero and science-fiction hits to become the second-biggest R-rated film in history.
This is likely where it’ll settle, although there’s no telling how much gas it has in the tank. The three-hour biographical thriller has made $787 million worldwide, which puts it behind onlyJokeron the list of thebiggest R-rated movies ever. Released in 2019,Jokerbecame the first R-rated movie to gross more than $1 billion worldwide, ultimately finishing with $1.066 billion. Incidentally, likeJoker,Oppenheimerwas also produced on arelatively modest budget, reportedly in the $100 million range.
Nobody would’ve expectedOppenheimerto perform as well as it has, so it would be foolish to write it off now, when it’s possible that it legs it past the $900 million mark globally. After all, it is expected to pass the $850 million this weekend, overtakingInceptionto becomeNolan’s third-biggest hitbehind his two billion-dollar blockbusters —The Dark KnightandThe Dark Knight Rises.Oppenheimeris also the third-biggest hit of the year domestically, and the fourth-biggest movie of the year worldwide. It will, however, soon overtakeGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3and claim the third spot on the global list.
Here Are All the Other Top R-Rated Movies in History
On its way to the number two spot on the all-time R-rated list,Oppenheimerovertook movies such asThe Hangover Part II($586 million),Logan($614 million),The Passion of the Christ($622 million), the Chinese filmDetective Chinatown 3($699 million),It($701 million),The Matrix Reloaded($738 million),Deadpool($781 million) andDeadpool 2($786 million).
Domestically, it remains the seventh-biggest R-rated movie ever, behindDeadpool 2($324 million),It($328 million),Joker($335 million),American Sniper($350 million),Deadpool($363 million) andThe Passion of the Christ($370 million). Along withMel Gibson’s biblical epic andClint Eastwood’s war drama,Oppenheimerstands out in a field dominated by genre pictures.
Based on the life of the theoretical physicistJ. Robert Oppenheimer,Oppenheimerhas been described as Nolan’smost mature feature yet, favoring an ominous, dialogue-heavy tone as opposed to the spectacle that he is usually associated with. The movie is also something of an Oscar front-runner, and while several of its cast members —Cillian Murphy,Emily Blunt,Robert Downey Jr.andMatt Damon, to name a few — will likely be shoo-ins for nominations, attention will also be on Nolan, who has yet to win that elusive Best Director Oscar.
