If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Hollywood sure loves to follow the trend of the moment, and it appears Warner Bros. is following suit. It was unveiled on the Film Ratings website, per the MPAA (via StitchKingdom), that WB will be releasing an R-rated version of “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice” following in the wake of “Deadpool.” The 20th Century Fox mutant film starring Ryan Reynolds of course changed the game two weeks ago when it debuted with a $132 million opening — the highest opening R-Rated film of all time and by a considerable margin.
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Many pundits suspected that WB would toy with the idea of an R rating for “Suicide Squad” now that “Deadpool” has seemingly broken the R-rating stigma (though don’t bet for a second what works for one film now works for all of them), but it appears the studio is leaping on the trend immediately for home-video and VOD releases of their flagship DC Comics Universe super-hero movie.
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So “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” Ultimate Edition (2016) will be rated R once the film eventually hits DVD/Blu-ray later in the year. Honestly, it’s a move that smacks a bit of desperation, especially considering the not-so-positive narrative around the Zack Snyder-directed film at the moment. Or it’s at least step one of a corrective move and strategy to turn around the narrative given we’re only a few weeks out from release. WB is also pandering to the fanboys who often seem to believe an R-rating is some kind of instant seal of approval or sign of quality. At the very least, the base will get excited, which is exactly the tactic. "Batman v Superman" opens March 25.
#BatmanvSuperman Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition, Rated R pic.twitter.com/UxY2RO5uxs
— Stitch Kingdom (@stitchkingdom) February 24, 2016