DC’s Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) movie officially receives an R rating from the Motion Picture Association of America. That may not come as a huge surprise to casual moviegoers who expect edgy content matter, but many have speculated the film would be relatively tame in comparison to recent comic adaptations like Joker. 

In Suicide Squad, Margot Robbie made her franchise debut as Harley Quinn, the Joker’s charismatic yet troubled love interest. Despite the film’s inherent violence, it received a PG-13 rating for “sequences of violence and action throughout, disturbing behavior, suggestive content and language.” Robbie delivered a standout supporting performance in the David Ayer-directed Suicide Squad, which immediately created even more buzz for a standalone Harley Quinn film that had previously been announced. Birds of Prey will address the backstory of Robbie’s character, but won’t be a direct sequel to Suicide Squad, nor will it necessarily be a Harley Quinn-focused movie. Instead, Birds of Prey will explore the various arcs for the titular squad consisting of Helena Bertinelli aka Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Dinah Laurel Lance aka Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), and Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco). Birds of Prey was written by Christina Hodson and directed by Cathy Yan.

Per IMDb, the MPAA gave Birds of Prey an R rating for “strong violence and language throughout, and some sexual and drug material.” Incidentally, Birds of Prey becomes the first DCEU film to receive an R rating, and will seemingly be significantly more provocative than the latest franchise installment Shazam!, a surprise box office hit that outperformed its production budget nearly seven times over. With that said, Birds of Prey opening weekend box office projections have it being the DCEU’s least successful opening weekend release. 

Birds of Prey producers have implied the DCEU film will be far more than a message movie about girl empowerment. Robbie has also suggested Birds of Prey will show a more “personal” side of Harley Quinn, most notably how she goes about her daily life and experiences issues every young woman deals with. The first Birds of Prey movie trailer released in October, and teases a stylish, gritty film with Robbie’s Harley Quinn being the main attraction.

Because of Birds of Prey’s now-confirmed R rating and the DCEU’s new direction, it makes sense the box office projections are currently low. Based on recent interviews, the cast and filmmakers seem more invested in the story itself rather than appealing to a teenage fanbase that may not necessarily relate to everything Harley Quinn experiences as a 20-something woman trying to get by. So rather than delivering a PG-13 film that could easily crush at the box office, Birds of Prey will instead be a more mature DCEU release that could change everything for the film franchise as a whole, certainly if critic reviews and general moviegoer reactions are both positive. 

More: BIRDS OF PREY Interview With Star Margot Robbie

Source: IMDb

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