Film Ratings: Pleasure or Profit?

This year there has been a number of films which have come under scrutiny due to their rating classifications. First there was The Woman in Black, the latest Hammer horror film which included Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe as its main attraction. This film was cut slightly and given a 12A certificate by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification). I think the cuts were very slight here, and a 12A certificate was justifiable. True the film did include a few scares, but these were of the jumpy variety rather than a no holds barred gore fest. The film may have received a higher rating had it not been for Radcliffe’s involvement, but as it was the film made a respectable $126,143,243 at the worldwide box office.

Next came The Hunger Games, where two teenagers from twelve districts were made to fight to the death until only one remained the winner. This was also given a 12A certificate after a few cuts. During my trip to see this I was slightly shocked at the amount of pre-teens at the screening. These children were aged twelve at the most and without their parents. Despite the actual violent content of the film, which wasn’t actually too significant, I felt that kids of a young age would not be able to understand the meaning of the film (despite it being adapted from a book for teens). As of today The Hunger Games has made a total of $620,702,000 worldwide so far, making it the highest grossing film of 2012 until the recent release of Marvel’s Avengers.

 What this clearly indicates is that the lower the rating classification, the more money the film is likely to make. The Woman in Black was a roaring success in the UK but would not have been so if not for the attachment of Radcliffe and the 12A rating, and similarly The Hunger Games was marketed as a children’s film but without doubt had an adult theme.

Which brings us onto the highly anticipated Prometheus: the so-called Alien prequel, directed by the series’ originator Ridley Scott. Much debate has been had over whether this film should have received a lower rating to attract a larger audience, or should stick with a higher rating so as to present the film the way the director originally intended. According to the BBFC website Prometheus has been granted a 15 classification, and rightly so in my opinion. To cut material essential to the film may increase ticket sales, but this is a film made for those who love the original Alien films, and to have to watch in a cinema surrounded by shrieking kids would surely deny them the enjoyment of the film they have been anticipating for the last two years.