G-rated Horton Hears a Who just got $45M over the weekend.
Bad analogy...R-rated films are only intended for a specific audience thus will make less money, the only exception I know of is Passion of the Christ.
I’ve read this before.
Hollywood makes more money with family friendly movies. So why do they pump out more filthy movies that do poorly at the box office?
Answer: To further their agenda.
Well . . . yeah.
It’s nothing new. If you read the original script for what became “Casablanca” it was raw enough to make “Brokeback Mountain” look tame. The Warners loved the concept of the play (refugees in North Africa) but did not think a movie centered on adultery, betrayal, and selfish desire would sell many tickets.
They changed it to the version beloved today — a movie about unselfish love and sacrifice. Does anyone think that if they stuck to a script that had Rick and Ilsa behaving like rutting pigs oblivious to the impact of their actions on others would be a movie that is still valued today?
This has been the situation for many years and is well known in Hollywood. I have no idea why anyone whould invest in an R rated film rather than in a g rated production. The potential payout for r is very limited.
2007 top box office:
1 Spider-Man 3 Sony
2 Shrek the Third P/DW
3 Transformers P/DW
4 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End BV
5 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix WB
6 I Am Legend WB
7 The Bourne Ultimatum Uni.
8 National Treasure: Book of Secrets BV
9 Alvin and the Chipmunks Fox
10 300 WB
11 Ratatouille BV
12 The Simpsons Movie Fox
G movies will always have the higher probability of drawing larger audiences because they can pull from a larger population of people. That and of course if you want to clam your kids down for 90-minutes you don't take them to the new blood and guts horror movie, the drama which puts them to sleep, or the techno triller that they couldn't follow unless you updated them every 5 minutes.
Last movie I went to the theater for....Cars.
Wife's last movie was Shrek the Third.
We wait for the DVD. Last two DVD’s? Hang Em High (replacing my VHS’s) and 101 Dalmatians.
Silliness (on WND’s part). There are probably far more “R” movies than “G” with many being small arthouse indie releases that pull down the average revenue. Compare the top five “G”’s with the top 5 “R”’s and see what you get.
Just saw “National Treasure: Book of Secrets”
Fun movie.
However, if the “family” films are about hip hop culture or are filled with poopy-farty jokes, we don’t want to take our kids to those, either.
ping
Mr. Bean’s Holiday: Rated G in DVD. It is a riot for all ages. Very clean. Very silly. Family entertainment.
More than 20 years of data is in – and the conventional wisdom is wrong.The chances a Hollywood movie will win big at the box office are greatly enhanced by a family-friendly rating and strong moral content, defying the notion the entertainment industry is merely serving up what consumers want when they produce so many R-rated movies full of ...crap.
I could have told them that. And it goes back further than 20 years. And that 'notion' is bull hockey. It's the 'notion' of Hollyweird degenerates, perverts and the Gay Mafia that's taken over the studios - like Disney. Old Walt has been spinning in his grave for years.
Ever since the Production Code (Hayes Code) went bye-bye utter filth has filled the big screen. Last night I threw in the tape of the Maltese Falcon. Thank God the Code was in effect and the Producer couldn't say,
'You know, that scene would be much better if we showed Bogie's butt Re-shoot that with his pants off. And we just have to push the Gay angle of Joel Cairo's character. Make him kiss someone, like Wilmer.'When an actor gets paid $1 Million extra to show his butt in a movie (like Mel Gibson used to), you should know there's a problem.
Horton hears a Who is the funniest movie I have seen in FOREVER. Clean humor is great. People actually applauded after the movie. Don’t see that often. What was great to see all the young couples there to see without kids even. There is slapstick humor that only adults can find funny, while mixed with silly for the kids to enjoy. But the ‘adult’ humor wasn’t sexual in any way. Like the “Is this Burt from accounting?”
well, this is a no brainer. I would guess kids go to more movies a year than adults. And I think kids are more likely to go to second viewings. Look what teen girls did for Titanic. Therefore, a good G rated would out draw a good R rated. I just don’t see the issue here.
Right now, someone could make a huge hit of a movie, with a solid ‘R’ rating and edited versions, avoiding Hollywood altogether, and about the Iraq occupation:
1) Totally indy film, with a non-industry director with good technical skill. Funded with five or six million dollars from a wealthy conservative.
2) No-name cast using real veterans and Iraqi army personnel, filmed in Iraq and scripted with real war stories. Full cooperation of the US military and no advance publicity.
3) The villains are al-Qaeda, not Iraqi, and the victims are Iraqis. Show the al-Qaeda as the grotesque and murderous monsters they are, who target women and children. Lots of righteous rage by the IA soldiers. Show IA as patriotic and angry as hell at al-Qaeda. They are also the ones who do the John Wayne stuff with some dying heroically in the grand manner, followed with oaths swearing revenge. While the US military is fighting as well, it is there to help the Iraqis win their battles.
4) Show MSM journalists as the utter, cowardly cruds they are, trying to help the enemy any way they can and hiding in the Green Zone and lying. However, have an actor portray Michael Yon, with permission, to protect his anonymity, to show how a real war correspondent behaves.
5) The US military personnel emphasize professionalism more than drama. Add on to that the soldiers rebuilding Iraq and training their police and military. When soldiers argue, it is not because one is a villain, it is because one knows something the other does not. Give the military branches and personnel a chance to shine, not as conquerers and destroyers, but as vital to help Iraqis.
6) When the movie is done, a huge release in subsidized direct to DVD sales. Edit both an R and PG-13 version, and a special version with bad language and graphic violence edits, so it will appeal to the young adult through Utah family demographics. Even do several foreign language versions, as one in the eye to the rest of the world. Don’t get too excited about pirate versions on the Internet.
7) US military cooperation guarantees that nothing is shown that reflects badly on the military, which is the intent of the production, and will have a positive impact on recruiting. No problem at all in making it look a lot like a recruiting video. Even private security people, like Blackwater, look good and get along fine with the military.
8) Depictions of al-Qaeda war crimes would be very graphic and horrible. Everything from mass graves, torture chambers, suicide attacks against school children. Cue incredible anger from the IA and civilians, and deep sorrow and sympathy from US personnel. The nastier the villain the better the movie. Inhuman and cowardly dogs, who worship a totally evil and repugnant perversion of Islam. This takes the wind out of those who call the movie “anti-Muslim”.
9) al-Qaeda also die in terrible ways, with scenes like their bodies being eaten by stray dogs. They also do lots of things that Muslims see as culturally filthy and disgusting on top of their barbarity and murder.
In some ways, the heroes of the movie should be the Iraqi people, rising in popular revolt against the murderous forces of evil, with a powerful ally helping them. Their suffering and anguish is the great drama, as well as their determination to be free. Theirs is the long sought-after Arab victory, with some help, that real democracy and freedom is the very definition of victory.
Such a movie would call into question a lot of the things that the US is criticized for, internationally and inside the US itself. That is why it doesn’t show ego-tripping American actors chewing scenery, who love to kill people and destroy things. It shows military men and women as important as firemen who save people from burning buildings, and policemen who protect people from violent and evil criminals. Their motive is to save, not kill and destroy.
There are many PG, PG-13 and R-Rated movies that have as much or more merit than G rated movies. There are also many very bad PG, PG-13 and R-Rated movies.
This is a worthless article. I for one would not want all G movies, all the time. R-rated movies can devlve into adult themes that are completely inappropriate for children but are completley appropriate for adults. Horton Hears a Who is a great book and movie for children, but when you get to forty it’s nice to be able to read or watch a film for adults.
I swear I don’t get this. People complain that Hollywood doesn’t make enough family friendly movies then post stats showing not only are they making them by the dozens but they are the top 10 box office draws.
What are you saying, that hollywood should ONLY make G rated movies?