Warner Bros. released new information on why Barbie received an official mature rating in the United Kingdom.
The anticipation surrounding the Margot Robbie-led Barbie movie is sky-high. The movie features a star-studded cast alongside Robbie, with the likes of Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Emma Mackey, and Kate McKinnon being included in the massive ensemble.
As its release inches closer, new details about Barbie started to emerge, such as its runtime and unsurprising PG-13 rating.
Barbie’s Mature Rating in the UK Explained
According to a listing from the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), Barbie has a 12A age rating in the United Kingdom.
This specific rating meant that the BBFC considers the content of 12A-rated movies to be suitable for children aged 12 and over and some scenes may upset them.
As per the listing, Barbie has scenes that have “moderate innuendo, brief sexual harassment, [and] implied strong language.”
The moderate innuendo could refer to the movie's mature jokes aimed at adults while the implied strong language could indicate that there might be an instance of swearing.
Meanwhile, the "brief sexual harassment" likely refers to the scene in the trailer where a man slaps Barbie on the butt:
In retaliation, Barbie punches the guy who abuses her:
Will Barbie’s Mature Rating Affects Kids’ Viewing Experience?
Despite Barbie's mature rating, Margot Robbie's upcoming movie is still set to be an enjoyable experience for kids and adults as it all boils down to the proper guidance from parents.
In fact, a study by the University of California in June 2007, via Science Daily, stated that PG-13 movies have a plethora of "happy violence," a term used to describe a type of violence that is "cool, swift, and painless."
That said, Barbie is expected to be filled to the brim with "happy violence" as evidenced by the movie's series of trailers in the past weeks. The movie's mature jokes and strong language definitely fall under that category.
At this point, it remains to be seen if the mature rating will ultimately affect Barbie's box office performance, but the current projections, via Deadline, reveal that the film could earn between $80M to $100M.
Barbie is set to hit theaters on July 21.
