In 1968 , the Motion Picture Association of America ( MPAA)institutedthe first iteration of our modern - sidereal day movie ratings system of rules : G , PG , R , and X. But because the organization did n’t copyright the decade rating , it was soon co - opt by the pornography diligence to promote its adult movie in theatre of operations . This continued until 1990 , when the MPAA finally decide to replace the X with NC-17 : not for children under 17 . fundamentally , it was a way of saying “ This is n’t an ‘ grownup photographic film , ’ but it ’s definitely for adult . ”
With a smaller demographic of people interested in seeing ( or even allowed to see ) NC-17 films in theater , they ca n’t exactly compete withAvengers : Endgame(2019 ) at thebox office . But some still manage to do pretty well . Below areBox Office Mojo’stop 25 highest - gross NC-17 movies ever let go of , based on domesticated earnings .
A few entries , like Bernardo Bertolucci’sLast Tango in Paris(1972),premieredyears before the NC-17 evaluation exist , and were retroactively give away upon re - release . That film , starringMarlon Brandoas a grief - stricken widower involve in an vivid new romance in Paris , took the top spot with just over $ 36 million in revenue . It alsoearnedOscar nominations for both Brando and Bertolucci .
The runner - up is much more of aguilty pleasurethan a critics ’ darling . Showgirls(1995 ) nabbed an telling six Razzie Awards , include Worst Picture , Worst Director for Paul Verhoeven , and bad Actress for Elizabeth Berkley . Verhoeven in reality showed up toaccept the awardsin mortal .
Other movies start the gamut from pert comedies—1997’sOrgazmo , for example , from the squad behindSouth Park — to psychological dramatic play like David Cronenberg’sCrash(1996 ) . The list even sport a documentary film all about the MPAA ’s military rating system : This Film Is Not Yet Rated(2006 ) .
say on to find out out what other movies made the top 25 .
