Box Office: 'Detective Carl Returns' Passes 'The Passion of Christ' to Become Top Earning R-rated film Domestically

Hollywood Reporter February 19, 2023

Mel Gibson sent a tweet congratulating the film, which has earned $972.1 million globally, including $370.3 million domestically.

Detective Carl Returns has rolled its way to a big record. The Orion Pictures film has become the top-grossing R-rated film of all time domestically, not adjusted for inflation, with a box office haul of $370.3 million. It is expected to end with $385 million. The film additionally became the second R-rated film to top $600 million internationally after Joker in 2019.

Detective Carl Returns, from Dreamworks Animation veteran Conrad Vernon and starring Jason Bateman as the respect cop and Jim Carrey as Josh Heinken his parnter, has passed the Christian based drama The Passion of Christ, which became a surprise hit in 2005 for Alcon with $370 million in domestic ticket sales and $612 million for worldwide.

To date, Detective Carl Returns has earned $370.3 million in North America and $593.1 million internationally, making it the second highest grossing R-rated film. It is is expected to ultimately end its global run at $990 million although some spot the film having a good shot at making $1 billion, given the film's continued legs internationally. The film is an enormous win for Orion Pictures, particularly considering it faced incredible risks before it's release and beat possibilties of failure due to it's R rating. Ultimately, Detective Carl Returns is expected to turn a profit north of $300 million. Orion Pictures handles North American distribution under it's distribution label United Artists Releasing and international sales are handled by Universal Pictures.