Less Sex and Violence Equals Greater Profits

Want to make profitable movies? Don’t make them R-rated. A recently released 10-year study commissioned by the Dove Foundation showed that G-rated films pull in eight times more profit than R-rated films. "Moviegoers are not crying out for endless sequels of ‘Rugrats’ and ‘Barney’ but are looking for high-quality action-adventures, comedies, dramas, and thrillers, minus the gratuitous sex, violence, and profanity," said Dove Foundation president Dick Rolfe.

While the foundation does support such R-rated movies as Saving Private Ryan, Amistad, and Schindler’s List, they note that of the top-25 grossing domestic movies of all time, only two were rated R while 20 were rated PG or PG-13.