20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek: First Contact
3. It Was The First Star Trek Film To Receive A PG-13 Rating
First Contact was the first Star Trek movie to receive a PG-13 rating from the MPAA, which reflected both the film's more menacing violence by way of the Borg, and of course the Borg Queen's undeniable sensuality.
But the rating also reflected blockbuster cinema's increasing tendency to favour the PG-13 rating over PG because it simply indicated a film more likely to appeal to both younger and older audiences.
The previous film, Star Trek: Generations, famously had to include Data dropping an"S-bomb" to prevent it from scoring a "G" rating, which would've unequivocally labelled it as a child-friendly movie and possibly dissuaded more "mature" viewers.
Curiously, First Contact's follow-up Star Trek: Insurrection went back to the PG rating, which perhaps in an attempt to mitigate its larger budget ended up having the opposite effect. Those lured in by the intensity of First Contact maybe found it too mild, hence its disappointing box office performance.
As a result, Insurrection would end up being the last Trek movie not to be rated PG-13, and PG-13 is now the standard for blockbuster films aiming to hit all four quadrants.