G-Rated Movies Are Harder to Find. NewsWire

NewsWire: 6/12/21

• The number of G-rated films has declined sharply since 2000. The most family-friendly category has shrunk as the number of PG-13 and R-rated movies has risen or remained steady. (The Wall Street Journal)
• NH: Released late last month, the movie Cruella marked a milestone for Disney. It’s the company’s fifth adaptation in six decades based on the “101 Dalmatians” story, but the first to be rated anything other than G. Cruella is rated PG-13.
• Disney isn’t alone. The movie industry has been slowly shifting away from the G rating for years. From 2000 to 2009, there were 110 G-rated movie releases in North America. From 2010 to 2019, that dropped to just 71.  
• As the ranks of the most family-friendly films thinned, their teenage counterpart--PG-13--exploded. While R-rated movies dominated the box office in the 1990s, PG-13 movies took over by the 2000s. During the 2010-2019 period, PG-13 movies grossed $54.6 billion, double the $26.5 billion for R movies and $24.3 billion for PG movies. G movies trailed with only $2.7 billion, down from $4.7 billion the decade before.
• Why fewer G-rated films? No, it's probably not because parents and kids are demanding a bit more "realism" (read: violence and harsh language) in their entertainment. More the opposite: Studios now fear eruptions from irate parents if they release a G movie that offends them in some way. The PG rating (which lets these Xers know the choice is "up to you") is therefore protective. And besides, if parents want something genuinely G-rated, there is now a whole slew of choices available on streaming services.
• Another possible reason is that, increasingly, family movies are actually being watched by all members of the family--kids together with parents and other extended family members. To keep parents entertained, movies need something like a mature subtext. Thus, PG signals to parents: Hey, you may really like this movie as well.

Did You Know?

• Vinyl Records Are Still Spinning. Add vinyl records to the list of items that flew off of store shelves during the pandemic. In 2020, sales of vinyl records rose 29% to $626 million, according to the Record Industry Association of America. It was the single-largest year for vinyl sales since industry tracker MRC Data began recording sales in 1991, and the 15th consecutive year of growth. Vinyl records outsold CDs for the first time since the 1980s. To be sure, records still make up a comparatively small share of total music revenue: Together, records and CDs account for just $1.1 billion in annual sales, compared to the $10 billion generated by streaming services like Spotify. Still, the fact that records still make up nearly 6% of the recorded music pie is remarkable for a format that peaked in the 1970s. Both older fans who grew up with vinyl and younger listeners who prefer its sound and feel have helped revive the format.