What age is The Boys in the Boat appropriate for?

Rated PG-13 in the US. 13, alone or with a parent; 9 in France. The whole movie, watched in full: what's in it, and how to talk about it with your child.

Why is The Boys in the Boat not recommended under 13?

What's in it: the official rating, first; the Depression, a brawl, Berlin 1936; the rest. The detail, fact by fact, is in the zinema guide, which reads the work itself (images, sound, dialogue).

zinema · movies · what age

The Boys in the Boat: what age is it for? 13, alone or with a parent

From 13, alone or with a parent.

Movie · 2023 · 2 h 03 · drama, history

YRS

The trailer

Alone, or with you

89101112131415161718

not yetwith an adult, or to talk about afteralone

The official US rating is PG-13, and we never go below it. Alone from 13, and not before, even with an adult.

Official US rating: PG-13. In France, zinema would say 9.

Watch the trailerContinue in zinemathen where to watch it, in zinema · more trailers, and where to watch films · Where to stream itWhere to watch

What it's about

The triumphant underdog story of the University of Washington men's rowing team, who stunned the world by competing at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Why 13

The official rating, firstRated PG-13 in the US (parents strongly cautioned, some material may be inappropriate for children under 13). zinema never goes below the country's rating: it explains it.
rule
The Depression, a brawl, Berlin 1936A student who sleeps in a car and cannot pay his fees, a bar fight, a father who abandoned his son as a child; then the Berlin Games before Hitler, shown from afar. Nothing bloody.
The restSome twenty mild swear words, period cigarettes, a few jolts at the start of races.

What the movie brings

Eight poor rowers who beat the rich and the Nazis: a true story that tells itself like a legend.
Rowing explained through the stroke: row as one or lose.
A boy abandoned by his father who finds a family in a boat.

Watching it together

Before

Explain the Depression beforehand and why Berlin 1936 matters; the film assumes you know.

After

at 13 and up

The coach says eight rowers must become one: what does that mean, and is it possible in a classroom?

See the facts

A weapon shown or used●●● · suggestedmeasured

Long dark scenes, night, storm●●● · shownmeasured

Pace●●● · shownmeasured

Visible injury, blood●●● · saidmeasured

A weapon shown or used●●○ · saidmeasured

A weapon shown or used●●○ · shownmeasured

Death of a character●●○ · saidmeasured

Density of dialogue●●○ · shownmeasured

Fighting, brawls●●○ · shownmeasured

Jump scares●●○ · shownmeasured

Kissing, romantic gestures●●○ · shownmeasured

Smoking●●○ · shownmeasured

Swearing●●○ · shownmeasured

Tense music or sound●●○ · shownmeasured

Abandonment, separation, confinement●○○ · shownmeasured

Alcohol●○○ · shownmeasured

Creature, monster, strong villain●○○ · suggestedmeasured

Drugs●○○ · saidmeasured

Smoking●○○ · saidmeasured

For the same age, on zinema

Percy Jackson and the Olympians 9, 8 with a parent
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew 9, 8 with a parent
God Save the Tuche 9, 8 with a parent
Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis 9, 8 with a parent

The latest guides

Les Tuche 9, 8 with a parent
Queen of Katwe 9, 8 with a parent
Man on Wire 13
Apollo 13 9, 8 with a parent

A zinema reading from September 19, 2026 · the whole movie, watched in full · the age by zinema's rules for the US and France, and a human reading · report an error · how this guide is made