Forbes.com Questions Wisdom Of PG-13 Expendables: A “Risky Gambit”

I’ve noticed that one editor over at Forbes.com, Scott Mendelson, seems to have a good eye for this subgenre/niche.  And yesterday, he put up a well laid out article questioning the wisdom of toning down The Expendables 3 to PG-13. 

“As of yesterday afternoon, what had merely been “threatened” by Sylvester Stallone has been confirmed. The third entry in the Expendables franchise, the series that brings together various 1980′s and 1990′s action icons to blow stuff up together, will go out with a PG-13.”

Mendelson does not attempt to argue whether or not the PG-13 rating will affect the quality of this particular film but rather lays out a thesis that it could probably affect  the financial return, which is expedient since this is the only reason it was rated PG-13 in the first place.

“This is not an argument about whether an R-rated Expendables 3 will be a better movie than the PG-13 version. The question is whether or not Millennium Films (the producer) and/or Lionsgate (the distributor) are sacrificing a rather vital attribute of their franchise (R-rated violence) for an audience demographic that is quite possibly uninterested in the film.”  Mendelson relays some interesting statistics, re: more family orientated movies:  “Even a seemingly youth-skewing film like Captain America: The Winter Soldier played 21% under-18 years old, with nearly 50% of the audience comprised of audiences aged 18-34. Godzilla played 60% over-25″

The full article can be read here, it’s an interesting read for anyone interested.