The gamble paid off for Fox because Live Free or Die Hard became the highest-grossing Die Hard movie at the U.S. These scenes were inserted into the film for an “Unrated version” that was released on DVD. However, director Les Wiseman shot two versions of some scenes with and without profanity.
The lower rating was heavily criticized by fans of the series as well as star Bruce Willis, especially since it meant that Willis could not say his character's signature catchphrase in the film ("Yippee-ki-yay, mother-" - the swear was muted by a gunshot in the movie). When 20th Century Fox decided to continue the franchise after a 12 year break with 2007’s Live Free or Die Hard, the studio released it as a PG-13 film in an attempt to sell more tickets. The first three Die Hard movies – 1988’s Die Hard, 1990’s Die Hard 2, and 1995’s Die Hard with a Vengeance – are rated R. The following four films were all cut by the studio in order to ensure they would receive a PG-13 rating.
box office).Ĭonsidering there are millions of moviegoers under 17 years old and parents generally feel more comfortable bringing their children to PG-13 movies rather than R-rated movies (demonstrated by the petition that asked 20th Century Fox to release a PG-13 version of Deadpool for younger fans), those box office figures make sense.īut the recent success of Deadpool ($363 million domestic) might make studios change their minds about future R-rated blockbusters. box office were rated PG-13, and no R-rated film cracks the top 25 (the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever was 2006's The Passion of the Christ, which grossed $370.7 at the U.S. While film fans might scoff at the idea of a movie studio cutting a film to achieve a lower rating, the studios have data that backs up that PG-13-rated movies have the potential to make more money than R-rated movies.įor example, eight of the top 10 all-time highest-grossing films at the U.S. So even if a director makes an R-rated feature, a studio might decide to cut sexual and violent content in order to ensure the movie is given a PG-13 rating from the MPAA. But to Hollywood studios, movie ratings are extremely important to how a movie might perform at the box office.
To those over 17, movie ratings aren’t much of a concern.