'The Hangover' Is the Biggest R-Rated Comedy Ever
Filed under: Comedy, Box Office
If you saw The Hangover this weekend, congratulate yourself! Not only did you finally learn why everyone in America has been laughing when they think of babies being injured, you also helped contribute to the film's new status as the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all time, with a total of $235.9 million (and still going strong). What's especially impressive is that the previous record-holder had held the top spot for almost 25 years: It was Beverly Hills Cop. That film made $234,760,478 back in 1984 and '85, and for a quarter-century no R-rated comedy could top it. The closest anything came was Wedding Crashers, which made $209.3 million in 2005.
The Hangover, directed by Todd Phillips, is #3 among R-rated movies of all genres, behind Passion of the Christ and The Matrix Reloaded, neither of which are comedies, at least strictly speaking. It would have to make another $46 million to surpass Matrix Reloaded, and that probably isn't in the cards, so it will have to content itself with being #1 in the R-rated comedy department. It will probably hold that record for a while, too -- of the top 20 R-rated movies of all time, only six are comedies. Strangely, none of them have Judd Apatow's name attached, either. Can we start a feud between Phillips and Apatow?
If you're wondering how The Hangover stands among comedies of all ratings, forget about it. About a dozen G- and PG-rated animated comedies have made more money, not to mention live-action comedies like Night at the Museum and Home Alone. The R-rated comedy is a genre unto itself, and that's where The Hangover reigns supreme.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-20-2009 @ 5:38PM
Bondo said...
I'm assuming your numbers are not adjusted for inflation making Beverly Hills Cop still far and away the highest grossing R-rated comedy. It just doesn't make a lot of sense to compare box-office numbers without adjusting for inflation, yet everyone seems to do it.
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7-20-2009 @ 11:46PM
Mike said...
That would be the more precise way of doing it. But most moviegoers aren't mathematicians. If a movie made more money, it made more money. Doesn't matter how many years apart. It's still a fact that The Hangover made more money than Beverly Hills Cop, even if it didn't sell more tickets.
7-21-2009 @ 9:13AM
Kevin said...
And we could also get into changing demographics and the different marketting strategies and release dates that allowed movies 20-30-40 years ago to continue to make money for weeks and months, as opposed to being frontloaded to make their budget back opening weekend. All of those things would have their place in a proper discussion of which movie really was more popular with the public (which is all the dollar figure is really supposed to represent anyways). But since a "true" discussion of that caliber would take 50 pages I'm content to just know which movie made the most moolah.
7-20-2009 @ 6:26PM
victor de la torre said...
"at least strictly speaking".. meaning..?
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7-20-2009 @ 6:12PM
Hoosh said...
It means he made a joke that you didn't catch
7-20-2009 @ 6:16PM
victor de la torre said...
Obviously.. but I meant regarding which film (Matrix or Passion)?
7-20-2009 @ 6:59PM
Mics said...
Does it really matter which film?? Both are laughable.
7-21-2009 @ 12:38PM
nathan said...
yeah victor--need some coffee? both films are laughably bad...
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7-22-2009 @ 1:04PM
David Musto said...
Start up the Phillips-Apatow feud. I'll be the one with the flaming arrow aimed at Seth Rogen's head. Todd Phillips has done the impossible. He made a movie with Owen Wilson likeable. Judd Apatow actually made me hate Steve Carell for a while.
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