Off the top of my head, I can’t pinpoint when the R-rating took a slug to the gut but my memory places it some time in the late 1990s, maybe 2000 on the dot. At some point, the powers that be deemed that it wasn’t worth making adult-themed entertainments with big budgets because teenagers couldn’t get in on their own and thus a tremendously lucrative demographic was diminished. Sneak-ins were rampant, of course, but that was even worse: more people saw their movie but the competition got the money. There were exceptions -Wedding Crashersis a memorable one - but for the most part, the studios went completely docile in the name of getting asses in seats.
That thinking is now somewhat undermined by the ravishing reviews and boffo box office that adornedDeadpooland, now,Logan, which took in some $33 million on Friday and is looking at an $80 million weekend right now. That would placeJames Mangold’s decidedly adult comic-book movie in the running for biggest R-rated opening ever; it’s already the widest release for an R-rated movie in the history of the American cinema. This would also effectively butThe LEGO Batman Movieon notice: it’s time at the top of 2017’s box office board is likely coming to a close in the coming weeks.
Now, likeWedding Crashers, this doesn’t mean much in the whole scope of things.Doctor Strangemade $85 million on its first weekend with a PG-13 rating and though it’s possibleLogancould hit that by weekend’s end, it’s likely to finish under that debut and this game only considers numbers. Still, producers may be more willing to green-light bloodier, cuss-filled, and genuinely dark scripts for franchises with this success. This even stretches out toGet Out,Jordan Peele’s brilliant horror film, which will likely be placing in second this weekend with something like $26 million. And as of right now, the staggeringly moronic faith-based whatsitThe Shackis primed to take third place, with an impressive $5.5 million take on Friday. At least some of those who can’t abideLogan’s rating are likely making a move towardThe Shack, which boasts performances fromOctavia SpencerandSam Worthington. As such, it would seem that it’s not just R-rated actioners that are becoming in-season at the local multiplex.
Check out Friday’s full top 5 below
$33,000,000
$8,000,000
$57,843,640
$5,450,000
The LEGO Batman Movie
$2,475,000
$139,456,801
Before I Fall
$1,669,829
