Birds of Prey was the first R-Rated movie from the DCEU and it showed, not because it had nudity and gore but because it was a fairly adult story that couldn't be told in the realm of PG-13 land. There were a number of disturbing scenes in the movie, like Victor Zsasz cutting off a person's face. However, the one scene that might have disturbed people the most was when Ewan McGregor's Black Mask forced a woman to dance and strip because she laughed loudly.
It's a deeply disturbing scene and one that left a lot of people uneasy but director Cathy Yan felt that it was important to keep. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Yan said this scene was the turning point for Black Canary, who had been on the fence about Black Mask until now. This was disturbing in a good way and made you feel better when Black Mask ended up exploding in the end.
We can safely say that it worked, showing that the movie definitely needed an R-Rating so that everyone could see just how bad this section of Gotham is. It really is a shame that this movie didn't reach Deadpool numbers but we can always hope that fan reception leads to a Birds of Prey 2.
Birds of Prey is now available on digital stores.
Read: Birds of Prey Director Speaks Out on the Film's 'Disappointing' Box Office Numbers