Bad Grandpa and the R-Rated Comedy Boom

With its $32 million opening, the Johnny Knoxville stunt flick Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa did more than just knock Gravity out of the No. 1 spot at the weekend box office. It also helped cement 2013’s status as a pretty great year for R-rated comedies.

“Raunchy comedies have been scoring big cash at the box office this year,” wrote BoxOfficeGuru.com’s Gitesh Pandya, noting that “five of the six top-grossing comedies of 2013 have had R ratings.” Tops among those films so far is the Sandra Bullock-Melissa McCarthy femme cop buddy flick The Heat at $159.4 million. Close on its heels are road-trip movies We’re the Millers ($148 million) and The Identity Thief ($136 million) followed by The Hangover Part III ($112 million despite its reputation as something of a disappointment) and the star-studded apocalypse laugher This is the End ($101 million). The only PG-13 comedy in top six, Grown Ups 2, has made $133 million and stars Adam Sandler, who specializes in non-R-rated comedies.