With the prospect of a concert movie surrounding one of pop culture’s most beloved acts, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, a PG-13 rating may not be what immediately springs to mind. After all, isn’t that the same rating as the terrifying The Ring and the somewhat raunchy rom-com 50 First Dates? Surely, The Eras Tour doesn’t have much in common with those films, or does it?
One thing is for certain: The Eras Tour certainly has a knack for clearing out the release dates for other movies of all ratings. Thanks to unprecedented pre-sales for a concert movie, R-rated films like The Exorcist: Believer and What Happens Later both changed their release dates so that they would not land on the same day as Swift’s musical documentary. Even the PG-rated Hilary Swank film Ordinary Angels pulled out from the same date for a reported 2024 release.
Why is Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour rated PG-13?
So what is it about The Eras Tour that has deemed it not suitable for children under 13 without parents’ permission? Does everyone’s favorite pop singer crawl out of the screen like Samara to wreak havoc on those who watched a cursed videotape? Or is something else going on?
It turns out the movie was originally listed as “Not Rated” on ticket sites as it was “not submitted to and approved by the Motion Pictures Association,” according to ScreenRant. However, that all changed when the MPA itself made an official announcement that The Eras Tour would be rated PG-13 after it apparently was subsequently submitted and approved, listing it as being PG-13 due to “some strong language and suggestive materials.”
If you are familiar with Swift’s music, this shouldn’t come as a surprise since some of her songs contain the f-word. While it’s not entirely known if those expletive-containing songs will actually be in the movie fully uncensored, that’s probably a decent guess as to why only full-blown teenagers will be admitted without adult supervision.
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour comes to theaters Friday, October 13.