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 Crashers is a memorable one -  but for the most part, the studios went completely docile in the name of getting asses in seats.

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Image via Summit Entertainment

That thinking is now somewhat undermined by the ravishing reviews and boffo box office that adorned Deadpool and, now, Logan, which took in some $33 million on Friday and is looking at an $80 million weekend right now. That would place James 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 but The LEGO Batman Movie on notice: it's time at the top of 2017's box office board is likely coming to a close in the coming weeks.

Now, like Wedding Crashers, this doesn't mean much in the whole scope of things. Doctor Strange made $85 million on its first weekend with a PG-13 rating and though it's possible Logan could 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 to Get 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 whatsit The Shack is primed to take third place, with an impressive $5.5 million take on Friday. At least some of those who can't abide Logan's rating are likely making a move toward The Shack, which boasts performances from Octavia Spencer and Sam 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

Rank

Title

Friday

Total

1.

Logan

$33,000,000

$33,000,000

2.

Get Out

$8,000,000

$57,843,640

3.

The Shack

$5,450,000

$5,450,000

4.

The LEGO Batman Movie

$2,475,000

$139,456,801

5.

Before I Fall

$1,669,829

$1,669,829

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Image via 20th Century Fox
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Image via 20th Century Fox
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Image via 20th Century Fox