Argylle‘s age rating has been revealed, and it breaks a 12-year tradition for Kingsman movie franchise director Matthew Vaughn. Vaughn’s follow-up after 2021’s The King’s Man sees the director once again exploring the espionage genre. Argylle follows a spy novelist, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, as she is drawn into a real-life secret agent plot, with a cast that includes Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Ariana DeBose, John Cena, and Samuel L. Jackson.
Now, ahead of the Argylle release date on February 2, 2024, FilmRatings.com reveals that the MPA has given Vaughn’s new movie a PG-13 rating, the first for the director since 2011’s X-Men: First Class. After the string of R-rated Kingsman movies, Argylle has earned the lower rating for “strong violence and action and some strong language.”
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Is Argylle’s PG-13 Rating A Good Idea?
Of the seven feature films Vaughn has directed, only two of them have received anything less than an R-rating, including Stardust and X-Men: First Class. It’s clear from Vaughn’s filmography that he’s interested in movies in which he can feature lots of swearing, crude jokes, and graphic violence. It’s interesting, then, that he’s chosen to divert from this trend for Argylle.
While it’s unclear why Vaughn opted for a PG-13 movie instead of an R-rated one, the more accessible rating will likely be good news for Argylle‘s box office prospects. Generally speaking, the PG-13 rating is a sweet spot for bigger blockbusters, as it allows room for mature themes and grittier action while not shutting out viewers younger than 18. After the R-rated The King’s Man ended up being a fairly big disappointment financially, Argylle is already poised to avoid a similar box office fate because of its rating alone.
Argylle‘s PG-13 rating may be good news for its box office, but it could be worrying to those looking forward to some Kingsman-style action. The first Kingsman, for example, made a big splash due to one particularly graphic action sequence in a church, and it’s unclear if Argylle‘s more toned-down action will have this same impact, even if it does feature Cavill in his most James Bond-esque role.
