‘Expendables 3’ Given A Soft PG-13 Rating, What Does That Mean For The Franchise?

Will the new Expendables 3 rating hurt the film at the box office? That’s what some people are wondering. Up until now, the hardcore action franchise has been rated R, which suits the franchise given its action-packed sequences and all-around gun-slinging scenes.

Earlier Sylvester Stallone warned that the last film could see a PG-13 rating. At the time the star said, “We want to reach as many people as possible. It’s very close to an R, believe me, it’s right there. But I think we owe it to the next generation. We thought we’d join that club for a while.”

Although Sly has good intentions, it might be a bad risk to take. Now that it’s official, there’s something to consider about the third installment and thats its box office viability. Rated R is lightyears away from a PG-13 action film. For some, it’s the difference between a pistol and a bazooka. A PG-13 rating may suggest that the hardcore action fans of the genre may get a watered down version of the first and second Expendables film.

According to Forbes, the rated PG-13 stamp might be a poor choice due to the demographic that Hollywood usually goes after which is 11-25 males.

“Whether it’s a case of young kids not going to the movies as much or (comparatively) older audiences are flocking to the theaters in greater numbers, the result is the same. Theoretically R-rated entertainments like ‘RoboCop’ or ‘Total Recall’ are being constructed as PG-13 ventures for an audience that comprises only a small portion of the theater-going demographic.”

Here’s how those rated R turned watered-down PG-13 films ranked at the box office. Just taking the films that Forbes decided to highlight into consideration, the list clearly indicates just how alienating a PG-13 rating can be for an audience that would much rather go see an R-rated film. The numbers reveal that people who are over the age of 17 go out in droves to see movies, and those who are considered the target age for a PG-13 film don’t.

RoboCop tanked grossing $58 million on a $100 million production value budget. A good argument is that Joel Kinnaman wasn’t a matinee star, but then you look at Total Recall which starred Colin Ferrell and Jessica Biel, two stars everyone knows, and you have an abysmal box office of $58 million.

Whether it’s lack of transportation or the lack of excitement from going to see a film that’s rated for them in a genre that usually promises more, we don’t really know. But we do know that this is a risk for Expendables 3. Lets just hope it’s not a risk that Sly regrets taking.

The Expendables 3 hits theaters on August 15.

[Image via Moviepilot.com]