The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is the organization that defines and manages the rating system used to classify the level of adult content and themes in movies released in the U.S. This week, the MPA unveiled a new Ratings Guide to explain the factors they weigh to determine a film’s rating – G, PG, PG-13, R, or NC-17.
These details are noteworthy because until now, the MPA’s process for rating a film has seemed opaque to many. With the release of the ratings guide, MPA Chair of Classification and Rating Administration Kelly McMahon stated, “[I] never loved the perception of we’re this faceless secret society who’s just doling out these ratings… we’re a group of parents who are just trying to do right by other parents.”
A film’s rating can be consequential to its success in the market, noting a long track record of PG-13 films outperforming R-rated movies. The most recent example of this is the relative difference in box office fortunes of last weekend’s NOW YOU SEE ME: NOW YOU DON’T (which was rated PG-13) and THE RUNNING MAN (which was rated R).
The MPA’s online ratings guide allows filmmakers, studios, and moviegoers to have more information about the level of violence, cursing, drug use, and other adult content in a movie. Borderline cases can create controversy, and appeals such as when Wes Anderson challenged the MPA on the R-rating it gave to his 2023 film ASTEROID CITY because it contained a brief nude scene.
Anderson’s appeal was successful, resulting in the film’s rating being downgraded from R to PG-13, based on his argument that the scene in question lasted only 1-2 seconds and contained no sexual content or overtone.