Since the dawn of the R rating in the 1980s, it’s been a more limited stamp on a film’s box office prospects. There’s a much lower box office ceiling on R-rated movies than there is for those of the PG-13 variety, and thus Hollywood doesn't normally back R-rated ventures with the big budgets that accompany your standard PG-13 franchise-starter. That said, some R-rated films still manage to break out in a big way regardless of budget, striking a chord with audiences that spurs repeat business and strong word of mouth.

Deadpool was one such film, standing as the first R-rated superhero movie programmed against the glut of Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Cinematic Universe efforts, which regularly aim to cross the $1 billion mark. Deadpool’s success caught everyone by surprise, going on to gross over $780 million worldwide. It was a success story, full stop, but it’s far from the only R-rated success story.

Below, we’ve assembled a list of the top 20 highest grossing R-rated movies of all time, ranked according to their domestic box office. It’s a neat overview of the kinds of films that really hit big with audiences, and the diversity of content here is a testament to how hard it is to make an R-rated movie that makes huge amounts of money.

1. The Passion of the Christ (2004)

Domestic Total: $370,782,930

Worldwide Total: $611,899,420

Filmmaker Mel Gibson’s gruesome take on the Biblical death of Jesus Christ should probably have been rated NC-17 for the sheer intensity of gore and violence on display, but this film was a massive hit fueled by a grassroots campaign that targeted church-fulls of Christians across the country.

2. Deadpool (2016)

Domestic Total: $363,070,709

Worldwide Total: $783,112,979

The success of Deadpool came out of nowhere, and is even more impressive when you consider the movie opened in February—a month not usually known for launching blockbusters. The film surpassed any and all expectations.

3. American Sniper (2014)

Domestic Total: $350,126,372

Worldwide Total: $547,426,372

Filmmaker Clint Eastwood’s story of true-life marksman Chris Kyle was a holiday smash, opening in limited release in December before really exploding upon wide release in January.

4. It (2017)

Domestic Total: $327,481,748

Worldwide Total: $700,381,748

When It scored the highest opening weekend for a horror movie ever, folks knew this was going to be big. No doubt fueled by the success of the similarly 80s-set coming-of-age hit Stranger Things, this Stephen King horror adaptation ended up outgrossing Warner Bros.’ own superhero crossover event Justice League.

5. The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

Domestic Total: $281,576,461

Worldwide Total: $742,128,461

The anticipation surrounding The Matrix Reloaded was absolutely massive, and this rare R-rated blockbuster—carrying a budget north of $150 million—indeed brought a lot of folks to theaters. But the curious story regarding Reloaded is how it completely turned people off the franchise, to the point that the trilogy closing The Matrix Revolutions, which hit theaters just six months later, only grossed a little over half of what Reloaded made.

6. The Hangover (2009)

Domestic Total: $277,322,503

Worldwide Total: $467,483,912

Warner Bros.’ $35 million The Hangover was a breakout hit, spawning an entire franchise and garnering the kind of repeat business that studios hope to see with comedies. Nine years later, it still stands as the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all time.

7. The Hangover Part II (2011)

Domestic Total: $254,464,305

Worldwide Total: $586,764,305

While domestically The Hangover Part II made about as much money as the first film, worldwide it topped the original by over $100 million. This is all the more impressive when you consider the pretty scathing reviews this sequel made—although 2013’s The Hangover Part III fell prey to a Matrix Revolutions-esque situation and grossed only $112 million domestic.

8. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Domestic Total: $234,760,478

Worldwide Total: $316,360,478

Beverly Hills Cop is one of the R-rated films that’s been on this top-grossers list the longest, and even today that $234 million domestic total is incredibly impressive. This was the epitome of a word-of-mouth hit, bolstered by the starpower of lead Eddie Murphy.

9. The Exorcist (1973)

Domestic Total: $232,906,145

Worldwide Total: $441,306,145

Over 40 years later, The Exorcist still stands as one of the scariest—and highest-grossing—horror films ever made.

10. Logan (2017)

Domestic Total: $226,277,068

Worldwide Total: $619,021,436

Spurred by the success of the R-rated Deadpool, 20th Century Fox allowed director James Mangold and star Hugh Jackman to finally go fully R-rated with Wolverine’s final sendoff, and audiences responded enthusiastically. The film even garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

11. Ted (2012)

Domestic Total: $218,815,487

Worldwide Total: $549,368,315

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane stepped into the feature realm with a raunchy comedy about a talking bear named Ted, and audiences—especially internationally—turned out in droves. Curiously, as is becoming a theme on this list, the 2015 sequel Ted 2 grossed a whopping $300 million less than its predecessor, and thus was a massive disappointment.

12. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Domestic Total: $216,540,909

Worldwide Total: $481,840,909

Steven Spielberg’s ode to World War II veterans famously lost the Best Picture Oscar in a close call, but the film was a bona fide box office smash right in the heart of the summer movie season.

13. 300 (2007)

Domestic Total: $210,614,939

Worldwide Total: $456,068,181

Filmmaker Zack Snyder’s stylish graphic novel adaptation 300 was a must-see film for a key demographic in the mid-2000s, packed with violence and sexuality, but presented in a then-unique, painterly visual style.

14. Wedding Crashers (2005)

Domestic Total: $209,255,921

Worldwide Total: $285,176,741

Here’s an example of a fairly standard comedy that didn’t exactly translate to international audiences, but performed pretty spectacularly on the domestic front. The pairing of Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn for Wedding Crashers was an inspired choice, and given how well the film did, it’s a bit of a surprise that New Line Cinema never made a sequel.

15. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Domestic Total: $205,881,154

Worldwide Total: $520,881,154

Director James Cameron has made two of the greatest sequels in history, and while Aliens performed so-so at the box office, Terminator 2: Judgment Day was an event film of the highest order in the 1990s.