MSNBC reports that the upcoming movie Terminator: Salvation will be the first of the Terminator films to have a PG-13 rating rather than R.
This is some interesting news in a lot of ways: director McG had previously said that studio execs had “given their blessing to make the picture…and if it’s a rated R picture, then that’s that.” Also, there’s McG made a big show at Comic Con, asking if people wanted to see star Moon Bloodgood’s breasts.
But MSNBC makes a good point about another R-rated franchise — Die Hard 4 — that made upwards of $400 million with a PG-13 rated showing. There’s also the fact that the ratings system has matured a bit as time has progressed — the same way 1974′s Blazing Saddles is R but 1997′s Austin Powers is PG-13 — and the Terminator franchise is no different.
The reason the first three got R-ratings was due mainly to those shifting rating systems, as well as nudity in the first film, and the use of the F-bomb in the second and third. (Also, the smaller-scale version of the conflict allowed for more close-up gore, which in the third film is pretty much the only thing thing that made it R.) So if the fourth film can steer clear of that… maybe they’ll bring in more dollars with the teenage (and who are we kidding, pre-teen) crowd.
