For a movie studio, the rating a film receives can have huge effects on its box-office performance. Yes, the old PG-13 vs an R-rating debate. A studio knows that with a PG-13 rating there is potential for more profits at the box-office, as it opens up the opportunity for more people (underage people) to watch the film. However, the content of a movie, perhaps content that gives it an R rating, can be more appealing to some audiences, and may be more of a draw.

Jason Blum, CEO of Blumhouse Productions recently spoke with CinemaBlend and explained the process of deciding what rating to shoot for with films:

“If someone gave me a great scary movie all about high school kids, and they said it was R-rated, we wouldn’t make it. PG-13, we’d make it… You can’t make a movie about kids, and then tell those kids they can’t go see it without their parents. It doesn’t work – although people have tried.”

He has a point there, making a movie as described above is going to attract the exact viewers that would be too young to watch the film, and would hurt the film’s profitability. Blum went on to talk about a film produced by Blumhouse that suffered from an R-rating:

“We did it once. It was a big, big mistake. The Gallows. The Gallows is a movie about high school kids, R-rated. And the movie didn’t work. And the movie was quite good. The movie tested well. It was a playable movie. And I think mostly it had to do with the R-rating that we allowed. We should have cut it back, and gotten it to the PG-13, but I didn’t.”

I also feel that kids nowadays are far more aware than they were 20 years ago, with the internet at their fingertips, no subject is off topic. Things that may have been too intense or scary for viewers a couple decades ago, probably wouldn’t get the same reaction from kids today. In my opinion, the ratings likely need to be reevaluated.

What do you think of Blumhouse’s approach? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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Source: CinemaBlend

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