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Movies & TV

01st Feb 2022

The Batman has been given a strict cert in Ireland due to its “strong violence”

Rory Cashin

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It is a higher certificate than any assigned to any previous Batman movie in Ireland.

The Irish Film Certificate Office (IFCO) have assigned a cert of 15A to The Batman ahead of its full release on Friday, 4 March.

As per the certificate page for the movie, the movie was given the cert due to “Strong violence and intense action sequences.”

On the official document, The Batman is certified through four metrics: Violence (Strong), Drugs (Moderate), Sex/Nudity (Mild) and Language (Strong).

The 15A certificate means anyone under the age of 15 will need a parent or guardian over the age of 18 to accompany them to see the movie in Ireland.

Some previous outings for Batman on the big screen did initially receive higher certificates, only to be re-certified when new legislation arrived. The 12A certificate, for example, didn’t exist in Ireland until 2002, so prior to that there was nothing for teenagers in between PG and 15s.

The 15A for The Batman is a higher certificate than any other cinematically released Batman movie in Ireland, going back to 1989’s Batman (currently rated as a 12A), Batman Returns (12A), Batman Forever (PG), Batman & Robin (PG), Batman Begins (12A), The Dark Knight (12A), The Dark Knight Rises (12A), Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (12A) and Justice League (12A).

Whether or not this will potentially impact the overall box office remains to be seen, but there have been plenty of stricter certed comic book movies in the last few years – Joker (16), Deadpool (15A), Logan (16) – that have proven to be absolute box office gold.

In the meantime, you can check out what is titled The Funeral Scene below to get a taste of what to expect from the movie:

Clip via WB UK & Ireland

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