What age is The Martian 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 Martian not recommended under 13?

What's in it: the official rating, first; a wound you stitch yourself; alone, and sometimes desperate; survival swearing; mission control cigarettes. The detail, fact by fact, is in the zinema guide, which reads the work itself (images, sound, dialogue).

zinema · movies · what age

The Martian: what age is it for? 13, alone or with a parent

From 13, alone or with a parent.

Movie · 2015 · 2 h 24 · science fiction, drama, adventure

YRS

The trailer

Alone, or with you

89101112131415161718

not yetwith an adult, or to talk about afteralonethe sweet spot

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

The sweet spot: around 13, when you like science at school, and can follow a man alone counting his potatoes and his days for two hours. Why a sweet spot?

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

During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.

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
A wound you stitch yourselfEarly on, the stranded astronaut pulls an antenna out of his belly and staples himself shut in front of a mirror, with blood: the only hard scene of the film, short, and it comes in the first ten minutes.
Alone, and sometimes desperateMark Watney talks to his camera, laughs, swears, then breaks down when his greenhouse blows out; you watch him lose weight and doubt. The opening storm, the explosion and the final launch are loud and dark.
Survival swearingAbout twenty-five swear words, a few of them strong: he is a man alone on a planet, and he says so.
Mission control cigarettesEngineers smoking and drinking coffee through sleepless nights, a bottle of wine at a party: nothing that weighs.

What the movie brings

Science as a survival tool: growing potatoes on Mars, making water, counting the days.
Humor as a way not to die: a hero who jokes with his camera because it is that or cry.
The whole world working to save one man, and the Chinese helping the Americans.

Watching it together

Before

Warn about the stapler scene at the start; after that, let it run, it is a film that makes kids curious.

After

at 13 and up

Mark Watney solves his problems one at a time: which would you start with if you were alone up there?

See the facts

A weapon shown or used●●● · suggestedmeasured

Death of a character●●● · saidmeasured

Verbal threat or intimidation●●● · saidmeasured

Visible injury, blood●●● · saidmeasured

A weapon shown or used●●○ · shownmeasured

Alcohol●●○ · shownmeasured

Death of a character●●○ · shownmeasured

Disaster, destruction, war●●○ · suggestedmeasured

Fighting, brawls●●○ · shownmeasured

Frightening imagery●●○ · shownmeasured

Kissing, romantic gestures●●○ · shownmeasured

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

Pace●●○ · shownmeasured

Smoking●●○ · saidmeasured

Smoking●●○ · shownmeasured

Swearing●●○ · shownmeasured

A weapon shown or used●○○ · saidmeasured

Abandonment, separation, confinement●○○ · shownmeasured

Alcohol●○○ · saidmeasured

Creature, monster, strong villain●○○ · suggestedmeasured

Density of dialogue●○○ · shownmeasured

Disaster, destruction, war●○○ · shownmeasured

Drugs●○○ · saidmeasured

Insults, hurtful words●○○ · shownmeasured

Jump scares●○○ · shownmeasured

Tense music or sound●○○ · shownmeasured

Visible injury, blood●○○ · shownmeasured

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 20, 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