The system of labeling movies with ratings based on appropriateness for audiences started in the late 1960s. Movie ratings were suddenly established in Hollywood and it changed audiences’ perspectives on entertainment. If a movie was rated R in the ‘60s, parents knew their children and teenagers definitely shouldn’t watch. A few legitimate reasons why a movie would be given an R-rating revolved around sexually oriented nudity, illegal substance usage, gory violence, excessive curse words, and other adult themes. The same methods for rating movies in the ‘60s are still in place today.
Despite knowing that youngsters can’t watch R-rated entertainment, plenty of R-rated movies still did amazingly well at the box office in the ‘60s with the adult-aged crowd. “Candy,” for example, premiered in 1968 as a comedy starring Ewa Aulin, Richard Burton, and Marlon Brando. It told the story of a high school student named Candy who hung out with an alcoholic poet, a gardener from Mexico, a man with a hunchback, and several other eccentric characters throughout her journey. The eye-opening sexual situations she found herself in pushed the movie into R-rated territory.
“Rosemary’s Baby” was another film premiering in 1968, but it was nowhere near as lighthearted, silly, or playful as “Candy.” Instead, “Rosemary’s Baby” fits into the horror mystery category. Although it’s now revered as an iconic cult classic, it had scenes that induced fear in the hearts of pregnant women back then. The creepy movie focuses on an expecting young woman named Rosemary dealing with an intensely spooky pregnancy. Midway through, she learns that her offspring is more of a demon spawn than a human infant. The spine-chilling and bloodcurdling twists in the film are the reason it received an unarguable R-rating. (While we’re on the topic of R-rated movies, check out the highest-grossing R-rated movies of all time.)
To determine the highest-grossing R-rated movies of the 1960s, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on historical box office performance from film industry site The Numbers.
14. In Cold Blood
- Domestic box office: $13,000,000
- Director: Richard Brooks
- Main cast: Robert Blake, Scott Wilson, John Forsythe
13. The Stewardesses
- Domestic box office: $13,500,000
- Director: Allan Silliphant
- Main cast: Christina Hart, Ronald South, William Condos
12. The Thomas Crown Affair
- Domestic box office: $14,000,000
- Director: Norman Jewison
- Main cast: Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, Paul Burke
11. The Wild Angels
- Domestic box office: $15,541,070
- Director: Roger Corman
- Main cast: Peter Fonda, Nancy Sinatra, Bruce Dern
10. Candy
- Domestic box office: $16,408,286
- Director: Christian Marquand
- Main cast: Ewa Aulin, Richard Burton, Charles Aznavour
9. The Boston Strangler
- Domestic box office: $17,810,894
- Director: Richard Fleischer
- Main cast: Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda, George Kennedy
8. The Fox
- Domestic box office: $19,146,711
- Director: Mark Rydell
- Main cast: Keir Dullea, Sandy Dennis, Anne Heywood
7. Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
- Domestic box office: $31,897,253
- Director: Paul Mazursky
- Main cast: Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliott Gould
6. Psycho
- Domestic box office: $32,000,000
- Director: Alfred Hitchcock
- Main cast: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles
5. Rosemary’s Baby
- Domestic box office: $33,395,426
- Director: Roman Polanski
- Main cast: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon
4. Woodstock
- Domestic box office: $34,505,110
- Director: Michael Wadleigh
- Main cast: Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Roger Daltrey
3. Easy Rider
- Domestic box office: $41,728,598
- Director: Dennis Hopper
- Main cast: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson
2. Midnight Cowboy
- Domestic box office: $44,785,053
- Director: John Schlesinger
- Main cast: Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Sylvia Miles
1. Bonnie and Clyde
- Domestic box office: $50,700,000
- Director: Arthur Penn
- Main cast: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard