With all the buzz going around “Logan” and “Deadpool“, I decided to make a full list of all R rated superhero movies ever released. Enjoy!
Full list of 40+ titles below, sorted by IMDb rating.
My favourite independent movies on this list are ”Robocop”, “Defendor” and “Super“. Pretty unique.
TITLE | YEAR | IMDB RATING | BUDGET (MLN) | BOX OFFICE (MLN) | NOTES |
The Matrix | 1999 | 8.7 | $63.000000 | $463.500000 | by the Wachowskis, with K. Reeves, L. Fishburne, H. Weaving, C. A. Moss |
Logan | 2017 | 8.4 | $97.000000 | $607.300000 | |
V for Vendetta | 2005 | 8.2 | $54.000000 | $130.000000 | produced by the Wachowskis, with N. Portman, H. Weaving. Based on comics by A. Moore |
Sin City | 2005 | 8 | $40.000000 | $158.500000 | by R. Rodriguez/F. Miller, with B. Willis, M. Rourke |
Deadpool | 2016 | 8 | $58.000000 | $783.100000 | |
Kick-Ass | 2010 | 7.7 | $30.000000 | $96.200000 | with (unusual) N. Cage |
Watchmen | 2009 | 7.6 | $130.000000 | $184.000000 | by Z. Snyder, based on comics by A. Moore |
The Crow | 1994 | 7.6 | $15.000000 | $50.600000 | by Alex Proyas (Dark City). Various sequels |
Robocop | 1987 | 7.5 | $13.000000 | $53.400000 | by P. Verhoeven, with P. Weller |
The Matrix Reloaded | 2003 | 7.2 | $150.000000 | $742.100000 | by Wachowskis, with K. Reeves, L. Fishburne, H. Weaving, C. A. Moss, M. Belucci |
Dredd | 2012 | 7.1 | $45.000000 | $41.400000 | screenplay by Alex Garland (directed Ex Machina) |
Blade | 1998 | 7.1 | $45.000000 | $131.200000 | based on Marvel character, screenplay by D. S. Goyer, with W. Snipes |
Constantine | 2005 | 6.9 | $100.000000 | $221.600000 | with K. Reeves, R. Weisz, P. Stormare, Tilda Swinton |
Special | 2006 | 6.9 | $1.000000 | ? | with Michael Rapaport |
Sin City: A Dame to Kill for | 2014 | 6.9 | $65.000000 | $39.400000 | by R. Rodriguez, with M. Rourke, E. Green, J. Alba, J. Gordon-Lewitt |
Super | 2008 | 6.8 | $2.500000 | $0.400000 | by J. Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy), with Rainn Wilson |
Defendor | 2009 | 6.8 | $5.400000 | $0.440000 | with W. Harrelson |
The Matrix Revolutions | 2003 | 6.7 | $150.000000 | $427.300000 | by Wachowski brothers, with K. Reeves, L. Fishburne, H. Weaving, C. A. Moss |
Blade ll | 2002 | 6.7 | $55.000000 | $154.400000 | by G. del Toro, screenplay by D. Goyer, based on Marvel character, with W. Snipes |
Wanted | 2008 | 6.7 | $75.000000 | $342.400000 | by T. Bekmambetov, with A. Jolie, J. McAvoy, M. Freeman |
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice | 2016 | 6.7 | $250.000000 | $873.000000 | …only the Director’s Cut was rated R |
Kick-Ass 2 | 2013 | 6.6 | $28.000000 | $60.700000 | |
Heroic Trio | 1993 | 6.6 | ? | ? | |
The Punisher | 2004 | 6.5 | $33.000000 | $54.500000 | with T. Jane, J. Travolta |
Darkman | 1990 | 6.4 | $16.000000 | $49.000000 | by S. Raimi, with L. Neeson |
Hebrew Hammer | 2003 | 6.2 | $1.300000 | $0.082157 | |
The Toxic Avenger | 1984 | 6.2 | $0.500000 | $0.800000 | first R rated superhero movie ever |
Black Mask | 1996 | 6.1 | ? | $14.000000 | with Jet Li. Disastrous sequel followed |
Punisher: War Zone | 2008 | 6 | $35.000000 | $10.100000 | OST was unexpectedly successful |
The Specials | 2000 | 6 | $1.000000 | $0.130000 | written by J. Gunn (Super, Guardians of the Galaxy) |
Guyver: Dark Hero | 1994 | 6 | $0.900000 | ? | …the only movie here when the sequel was more successful than the original that wasn’t rated R. |
The Punisher | 1989 | 5.9 | $9.000000 | $0.500000 | with Dolph Lundgren |
Blade: Trinity | 2004 | 5.9 | $65.000000 | $132.000000 | by D. S. Goyer, with W. Snipes |
Robocop 2 | 1990 | 5.7 | $14.000000 | $45.700000 | with P. Weller |
Judge Dredd | 1995 | 5.5 | $90.000000 | $113.500000 | with S. Stallone |
Daredevil | 2003 | 5.3 | $78.000000 | $182.700000 | …only the Director’s Cut was rated R |
Tank Girl | 1995 | 5.2 | $25.000000 | $6.000000 | with Naomi Watts, M. McDowell |
Spawn | 1997 | 5.2 | $40.000000 | $87.900000 | |
Alter Egos | 2012 | 5.2 | ? | $1.000000 | |
The Toxic Avenger: Part ll | 1989 | 5.1 | $2.400000 | $0.800000 | …and 2 other less successful sequels |
Black Scorpion | 1995 | 4.8 | ? | ? | …and the sequel |
Spiderbabe | 2003 | 4.4 | ? | ? | …direct-to-video, loosely based on Marvel character |
Officer Downe | 2016 | 4.1 | ? | $0.000850 | |
Faust: Love of the Damned | 2000 | 4.1 | $3.000000 | ? |
Let’s make clear several things.
- Most R rated superhero movies fall in into categories – or it’s a very high budget Hollywood production, or it’s some independent stuff that’s often trashy. Both categories had their failures and successes.
- The movie doesn’t always need to have R rating to be awesome. In “Watchmen” – yes, it’s a part of the plot and story. In “Logan” – well, it could be a great movie even without all that gore.
- Neither “Deadpool” nor “Logan” were first R-rated superhero movies. Before that, we had “Watchmen”. And before “Watchmen”, we had “Blade”. And even before them, we had “The Toxic Avenger“.
- If we talk about things seriously, let’s admit R rated superhero movies now made a full circle. “Blade” (1998) was one of the first big successful movies – by the way, it’s a Marvel character – grossing $131 million with only a $40 million budget, but it was mostly pure action and style. “The Matrix” was probably really the first big office hit that started to change things, being not just cool action movie with violence, but also more though though-provoking ($463.5 million box office). Then came “Spider-Man” with its $821.7 million worldwide box office, starting the hugely successful era of superhero movies for everybody.
- “Defendor” and “Super” are a must-watch for anyone who likes independent cinema.
I liked how concise your information.
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Thanks! It wasn’t easy to find all this stuff about budget&box office, but this is a good list.
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Well your research paid off well.
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If you want to share it somewhere it’d be great too, I created it on IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls069916116/
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I’ll consider that.
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The Matrix films are superhero movies now?
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I didn’t see it in that way before, I’ll tell you honestly. But now after all these years, yes, definitely it may be easily categorized as such, as it has many elements of it. It’s a dystopian post-apocalyptic cyberpunk action movie with good insights into philosophy.
Now, it may sound superficial and controversial, but if you simplify the plot for a 12-year-old kid, this is how it looks: there’s a guy who’s an ordinary man, he gains superpowers and now tries to save the world fighting the bad guys. Of course, the movie is much more complex than this, but at its core this understanding can be accepted.
There are other movies on this list that may be under doubt as well, it’s not the only one. That’s a common thing about all these movies here and why they are R rated.
Your thoughts? Some additions to the list?
But don’t ask me for a definition of a superhero movie now… That kind of stuff you do much better than me. 🙂
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I feel that paints the definition of “superhero” with too broad a brush, particularly since the classical definition of a superhero is someone who uses their superhuman abilities to save other people. There’s much kicking and punching and raging against the machine, so to speak, in The Matrix movies, but not much actual saving of ordinary people. Contrast this with Superman saving a bus full of school children from drowning or Spider-Man foiling a dangerous bank robbery with civilian hostages. I think a sort of moral code having to do with protecting the innocent is a key attribute of superheroes as we know them.
You could put all these aforementioned figures under the umbrella of action heroes or action movie protagonists, I suppose, but to simply say a person with extraordinary physical abilities is a superhero misconstrues the term. By that definition, the Bride in Kill Bill, James Bond, or Arnold Schwarzenegger in any of his action roles could be considered a superhero.
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”There’s much kicking and punching and raging against the machine” – that’s probably one of the best definitions of that movie that I’ve heard in a long time. I’m sure Zack de la Rocha’d love it too. I understand what you mean, but I guess that in that world saving the humans directly was almost impossible for obvious reasons of the plot construction (except for several people and the last battle if you interpret thing in a normal way – I’ve read very different interpretations of the Matrix universe). So the choice was still to save whe world in order to later let humans live in the future. That’s why I consider it a superhero movie.
Anyway, I agree with you that obviously Superman or Spider-Man is a classic superhero movie and The Matrix is such to a lesser extent. Of course.
The action movies with James Bond or Schwarzenegger I won’t consider because they don’t have superpowers. In most cases they are unkillable, of course, due to the plot and franchising, but it doesn’t mean having superpowers.
And this list is limited just for R rated flicks, I didn’t take into consideration the whole picture of the superhero movies. That would make everything too complicated.
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Nice post! I also really liked Robocop! I guess anyone who wants to adapt A. Moore comics will have to go for R rating, they are just graphic. Though, I do not particularly like how they adapted V for Vendetta.
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Thanks! Which one is you favourite out of top 20?
Yes, they have to go R if they want to make a faithful adaptation, but I also thing it’s the marketing issue. If they don’t go R, they’ll a) not make a faithful adaptation b) have to compete with other superhero movies and that is a risky business now. Robocop, I think, is one of the genre-founding movies in some way, as it is hugely influential and smart.
Did you read A. Moore comics?
What you didn’t like about V for Vendetta? I have watched it when I was pretty young and need to rewatch it, hence you won’t find it rated in the review section. Here in this list everything’s sorted just by IMDb rating.
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It is difficult to say which is my favourite: I liked The Matrix for its idea/insight – it was something different in 1999, and I have not seen quite a few on your list.
I did read Moore’s comics – I like them. I have many issues with V for Vendetta (2006). For one thing, it kinda missed the point of the comics, and Moore himself hates the film and what they have done. The comics’ story is more about fighting a branch of “fascism” so to speak, and the comics make many political statements here and there. You don’t see it so much in the film. Another thing is that they made it all so rosy and nice in the film. Evey is not out to seek clients for the night, but ventures to her friend. Evey is a much more damaged person in the book.
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I see. Thanks for the insight. I will definitily rewatch it paying attention ti the original source.
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Can you drop me an email? 🙂
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Thanks for following my blog, Mr B. It is much appreciated.
Best wishes, Pete.
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You have lots of good stuff there…maybe even too much 🤔😀
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I always thought you could never have too much of a good thing, Mr Bobinsky! 🙂
I know what you mean though…
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Wow, some great movies in that list and some real stinkers. I’ve seen 20. My favourites are The matrix and The Crow. I’ll have to check out Defender because I actually really liked Super.
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Lots of stinkers! 🙂 Which are the worst from the top 20 for you?
Defendor is great. It’s doesn’t have all the crazed violence like Super but doesn’t need it. And I really adore Harrelson’s work, he has good charisma and isvery versatile.
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Recently rewatched The Matrix in theaters. Why was that movie rated R again? The violence wasn’t that rough as I recall
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You’re lucky to have it in the theaters… That’s a good question. It’s a dark movie with lots of violence, but there’s nothing explicit indeed. In fact, in most other countries it was rated with a much softer rating. +12 in Switzerland, ha.
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Super is one of my favorite movies! Go Boltie forever!!
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Mine too. Look what lvl54spacemonkey shared with me before: https://ibb.co/cBSqJk
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The movies I’ve seen on this list all pretty much kick ass, and now I want to see the ones I’ve yet to watch on this list.
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Thanks for stopping by! Yes, there are many incredible titles here, both big and small flicks like ‘Super’ by Gunn who did two awesome ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movies… Consider that not all movies on the list are worth watching, only if you aren’t a total cinephile! 🙂
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Great blog! Your list definitely included a good amount of movies that I was not aware of — I’m always down for a good, R-rated superhero movie 🙂
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Thanks! 😉
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I personally don’t find the Wachowskis’ Matrix trilogy to be super heroic, these women want to transcend it.
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It’s obviously not a pure superheroic movie as we know them (now), but has clearly some elements of it. There was a big discussion about it here already in ths comments section ☺
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[…] Hollywood blockbuster that has a R-rated Director’s Cut so I even included it on my list of all R-rated superhero movies ever released (44 […]
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[…] Top 44 R-rated Superhero Movies […]
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