‘Toxic Avenger’ too toxic for R rating, releases unrated Aug 29

The division within the Motion Picture Association that assigns ratings like PG, PG-13, R, etc., may have as little job security left as toll collectors. Those jobs might not be long for this Earth if audiences keep making box office successes of movies regardless of ratings.

It used to be that getting anything harder than an R for a film that wasn’t trying to be pornographic was a financial death sentence. Then an interesting thing happened.

Last year, the extremely violent slasher film “Terrifier 3” went unrated into theaters and crushed it with $54 million. Its budget was only $2 million.

“Most of the major theater chains would not play a film if it's not rated,” says Jeff Bock, senior box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. “What ‘Terrifier 3’ ended up doing, and I don't think they did it on purpose, is blowing the doors off the rating system. It's no longer a roadblock.”

Now we’re seeing reports that the reimagined New Jersey B movie '80s classic “The Toxic Avenger” is being released to theaters with no rating. It stars New Jersey’s Peter Dinklage and while the plan had been to secure an R rating, reports are out that they're going in “Terrifier 3” mode.

And there are other big names in this. Kevin Bacon plays a corporate greed boss. Elijah Wood plays his sinister-looking brother.

If this movie also does well, and with its name recognition and its nostalgia, it should be successful, it could further cement that motion picture ratings will have little to do with box office success in the future. Which might not be a bad thing. It would allow the art to be what the artists wanted it to be, rather than rewriting and editing to suit the censors.

“The Toxic Avenger” is scheduled to open on Aug. 29. If the reports are accurate and it does indeed open unrated, it means no one under 18 will be admitted. My guess is that it will actually increase attention on this toxic reboot.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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