Without spoiling anything, The Batman is a pretty dark take on Gotham’s most famous vigilante. In the trailer alone, we see The Riddler wrapping heads in sticky tape, Batman brutally taking down thugs, and Bruce Wayne staring into the middle distance like a moody teen who’s just been grounded.
All of this (maybe not the teenage sulking) has forced the BBFC – the body responsible for classification and censorship of films in the UK – to give the new action movie a 15 certificate. According to the BBFC’s website (warning there are spoilers), The Batman received this certificate because of “strong threat and violence”.
You’d think the people making the film would realise just how adult the thriller movie they were making was but apparently not. In an interview with UNILAD’s entertainment editor Cameron Frew the Caped Crusader himself, Robert Pattinson, expressed shock that the film had received a 15 certificate. “No way,” he cries as he looks around the room, bemused. “What happened! I didn’t even know. Oh no, this is a disaster. Dark Knight wasn’t a 15?”
Zoë Kravitz then chimes in, expressing some confusion about what a 15 certificate means and the whole chat is derailed by explaining the esoteric nature of the BBFC classifications.
Here's Robert Pattinson discovering #TheBatman is a 15 in the UK, before explaining the BBFC to Zoë Kravitz. pic.twitter.com/U68yaHMrqr
— Cameron Frew (@FrewFilm) March 1, 2022
The Batman is the first film featuring Gotham’s most famous vigilante to receive a 15 certificate in the UK since Tim Burton used Batman Returns to trick us all into watching German expressionist cinema. Still, that’s unlikely to affect its box-office performance, and my local IMAX is booked up for days.
The Batman is expected to earn between $100 million and $125 million in its opening weekend, with some analysts predicting it could bring in as much as $140 million. It looks like Bruce will have plenty of money for batarangs in the future.
The Batman swings into theatres on March 4.