‘Til Death Do Us Part . . . Maybe

By Abby Morse

“To have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, from this day forward until death do us part” -- the most common of all wedding vows; yet it is in danger of losing its validity in the wedding ceremonies of many Hollywood icons.

The Most Family-Friendly Movies Earn More Money, Annual Movieguide® Report Shows

An annual box office analysis by a Christian conservative group has found once again that the most family-friendly movies with the most inspiring, cleanest content earn more money at the box office and on home video.

The 2012 Annual Report to the Entertainment Industry by the pro-family advocacy group Movieguide® shows that the most family-friendly movies averaged more than $40.7 million per movie in 2011 in America and Canada, but that the least family-friendly movies with the most offensive, obscene, or anti-family and immoral content averaged only about $19.8 million.

The study extensively analyzed the content of the top movies released by the major studios in Hollywood earning $750,000 or more, including the major independent studios.

“The evidence is abundantly clear,” said Dr. Ted Baehr, founder and publisher of Movieguide®. “Moviegoers greatly prefer family-friendly movies.”

He noted that the Annual Report, now in its 20^th year, doesn’t just examine family movies and cartoons for children, but family-friendly movies with the cleanest, most inspiring, and least offensive content.

“Most people want to see Good conquer evil, Truth triumph over falsehood, Justice prevail over injustice, Liberty conquer tyranny, and Beauty overcome ugliness,” he added. “They also would like to take their whole family, including their grandparents, to the movies more often.”

The study also found that movies with no sex, no nudity, and no foul language averaged the most money in 2011. In fact, as the following three charts show, the more sex, nudity, or foul language in a movie, the less money it tended to make.

Also, G rated movies averaged about $53.8 million in 2011, but R rated movies averaged only about $15.3 million.

The story was similar if you examine the Top 10 and Top 25 Home Video Sales in 2011.

For example, 50% of the Top 10 Home Video Sales in 2011 were animated family movies with no or very little foul language and no sexual content, only one was R rated, and the other four had only light foul language and no depicted sexual content.

Also, only 12% of the Top 25 Home Video Sales in 2011 had any depicted or extreme sexual content, only 4% had any explicit sexual nudity, and only 20% were rated R.

Dr. Baehr presented these and other highlights from Movieguide®’s 2012 Annual Report to the Entertainment Industry Friday night at the 20^th Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala, held at the Universal Hilton Hotel in the heart of Hollywood (www.movieguideawards.com).

At the Awards, Dr. Baehr and Movieguide® presented more than 25 awards to the most family-friendly and inspiring movies, television programs, and performances in 2011.

Movieguide® has been analyzing the content of movies and comparing box office numbers since 1991.

“We have found similar results in practically all of our previous studies,” Dr. Baehr noted.