G-Rated Movies Are Good Earners

Are G-rated films more profitable than others?

A new study says they are.

Adding a new twist to the long-running debate over sex and violence in entertainment, the study commissioned by the non-profit Dove Foundation indicates that over a recent 10-year period the average G-rated film had a 31 percent greater rate of return on investment than the average R-rated film.

The study is based on data from all theatrical films rated by the Motion Picture Association of America that were released on 800 or more U.S. screens from Jan. 1, 1988 through Dec. 31, 1997.

“While Hollywood produced nearly 18 times more R-rated films than G (films) between 1988 to 1997, the average G-rated film produced five times more gross profit than its R-rated counterpart,” said Dick Rolfe, president and CEO of the foundation, a media advocacy organization based in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Entertainer Steve Allen and author Michael Medved - two frequent critics of sex and violence in movies - are among those listed as advisers to the foundation, which encourages creation, production and distribution of “wholesome” family entertainment.

The report was commissioned by the foundation in the hope of quantifying the greater profitability of G, PG, and PG-13 films over R-rated pictures.

The Dove report maintains that the aggregate rate of return for G-rated films is 163 percent; PG-rated films garnered 148 percent; PG-13 pictures returned 143 percent; R-rated films turned in a 124 percent return; while NC-17 pictures had a 86 percent return.