The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) will issue higher age ratings for some films that include scenes of violence and sex.
Violence, particularly when intense or impactful scenes occur, may now require a higher rating across all age-rating categories while some sex scenes which were classified under 12A/12 in the 2019 guidelines may be bumped to a 15 age rating.
The changes come after the BBFC spoke to 12,000 people in 2023 about classification and how it affects them in the organisation’s largest-ever public consultation.
Findings showed that suicide and self-harm had risen to the second biggest area of concern since the research was last conducted in 2019, behind only sexual violence which remained number one.
Drug use
Research also found that public attitudes towards cannabis and solvent misuse on screen had relaxed and thus the BBFC may take a less restrictive approach towards relevant scenes moving forward. This applied to Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love, which includes cannabis use and received a rating of 12A under new guidelines where it may have been given a 15 previously.
Current policy will however remain the same with other incidents of drug use.
The research also raised concerns around language, particularly those with sexual or misogynist connotations which may now require a higher age rating.
These changes will only apply to new releases but prior titles that wish to be re-released may be given a different rating. For example, the 1964 classic Mary Poppins recently had its rating bumped from a U to a PG due to its use of “discriminatory language”.
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