How do ratings correlate to box office?

In 1999 R-rated films grossed $3 billion dollars in domestic box office receipts while PG-13 movies took in $2.5 billion, but what was interesting about the domestic box office in 1999 was that it took three times the number of R-rated films than PG-13 films to reach their respective box office totals. The major studios noticed the difference in performance and began pouring more money into movies rated PG-13.

Today, R-rated films still out number PG-13 films, but the financial trend first noticed in 1999 continues. Over the last five years PG-13 movies have averaged between $39.5 million and $47.9 million dollars domestically. When compared to the $10 million to $15.8 million that R-rated films averaged in grosses over the same time period a clear picture of how profitability relates to a movie's rating emerges.

The driving force behind this trend is made clear by MPAA data which tells us that males under the age of 25 enjoy going to the movies more than any other group. Further examination shows that nearly half of all youths between the ages of 12 and 17 attend, on average, at least one movie a month. By comparison only a quarter of adults over the age of 18 attend as frequently. (And, again, the majority of the adults who do attended movies once a month are under 25).