There’s been a whole back and forth over the last few months between fans, Ridley Scott, and the MPAA about the possible rating PROMETHEUS would bring to cinemas. The battle between “marketability,” truth to vision, and fan opinion has led to an intense debate about what ratings truly mean, both for ticket sales and for the preservation of Ridley Scott’s intention.
But now the alien is out of the bag, as IMDb user “dvonnesoneek” has posted a picture of their IMAX 3D ticket online for all the world to see:
So there it is, folks. Rated R, plain as day.
Which brings up a new question then – how do you think this will affect the box office? Don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely psyched to have an epic Rated R piece of Sci-Fi from one of the genre’s greatest visionaries. But I’m just curious how releasing an epic Rated R piece of Sci-Fi in the middle of the summer season is going to do in ticket sales, and what the result will mean for the future of such films.
So what do you thinK? Does PROMETHEUS have enough mystery and action to outperform the other big-budget-R-rated elephant in the room (THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO)? Or will it quickly be running on feeble legs after an initial opening weekend success powered by film fans?
Update: 20th Century Fox has confirmed that PROMETHEUS will be Rated R for “sci-fi violence including some intense images, and brief language.”
*Clarifying note: I don’t believe that TGWTDT was a failure by any means, as it definitely made back its budget with international grosses included. But it also was not the runaway success that was hoped for, and beyond commissioning a screenplay the studio hasn’t exactly jumped on making the next installment. Domestically speaking (what studios mostly care about) TGWTDT only made a little over $100 million dollars, which was barely more than its budget, and so it sadly doesn’t surprise me that the last news we heard about another movie was way back in early January.