The Labor Day weekend is setting a number of box office records. Not only has total summer revenue surpassed $4 billion for the first time since pre-pandemic 2019, but two significant contributors to that success — Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer — are also reaching personal milestones. Barbie finally surpassed The Super Mario Bros. Movie to become the year’s largest hit at the global box office, while also surpassing the $600 million milestone in the United States. Meanwhile, Oppenheimer has surpassed a string of superhero and science-fiction blockbusters to become the second-largest R-rated film in history.
This is most likely where it will settle, albeit how much gas it has in the tank is unknown. The three-hour biographical thriller has grossed $787 million worldwide, trailing only The Joker on the list of the most successful R-rated films. Joker, which was released in 2019, became the first R-rated film to gross more than $1 billion worldwide, eventually concluding with $1.066 billion. Oppenheimer, like Joker, was developed on a relatively low budget, apparently in the $100 million area.
Nobody anticipated Oppenheimer to do as well as it has, so it would be a mistake to write it off now, when it might easily surpass the $900 million barrier internationally. After all, it is likely to surpass $850 million this weekend, passing Inception to become Nolan’s third-largest smash, trailing only his two billion-dollar movies, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. Oppenheimer is also the year’s third-biggest domestic smash and the fourth-biggest film internationally. It will, however, quickly overtake Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 to achieve third place on the global list.
Here Are the Rest of the Top R-Rated Films in History
Oppenheimer surpassed films such as The Hangover Part II ($586 million), Logan ($614 million), The Passion of the Christ ($622 million), the Chinese film Detective Chinatown 3 ($699 million), It ($701 million), The Matrix Reloaded ($738 million), Deadpool ($781 million), and Deadpool 2 ($786 million) on its way to the number two spot on the all-time R-rated list.
Domestically, it ranks eighth behind Deadpool 2 ($324 million), It ($328 million), Joker ($335 million), American Sniper ($350 million), Deadpool ($363 million), and The Passion of the Christ ($370 million). Oppenheimer stands apart in a field dominated by genre films, alongside Mel Gibson’s biblical epic and Clint Eastwood’s military drama.
Oppenheimer, based on the biography of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, has been hailed as Nolan’s most mature picture yet, emphasizing a somber, dialogue-heavy tone above the spectacle with which he is typically associated. While several of its cast members — Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., and Matt Damon, to name a few — are likely to be shoo-ins for nods, attention will also be focused on Nolan, who has yet to win the elusive Best Director Oscar.
