Impacts of Certification on Film Openings

The British Board of Film Classifications  (BBFC) is responsible for classifying films with certain ages. The idea is to stop underage audiences from viewing things that could potentially harm them. By having classifications, it directly impacts on film companies because it means they have to be careful with what they include in film openings and films too. This means if they have to segment their market if they wish to include for instance graphic scenes which may not be suitable for younger audiences. 'Segmenting the market' or choosing your 'Target Market' can mean a loss of potential viewers however. Therefore, large film companies have to take this into consideration when making films as it basically in turn means a smaller amount of people can watch the film in cinemas and even buy the DVD, depending on the classification, meaning a smaller return, meaning total profits will be reduced.

Films are rated on three main things, these are:

• Scenes of a Sexual Nature
• Violence
• Coarse Language

Obviously, by having certain certifications it can really deplete a films potential audience as they aren't then allowed to go and see it if below the certain age. In turn, some films target specific audiences, if they know there film is going to be an 18 in order to still get a good return, for instance The Wolf of Wall Street, however others keep it fairly open by not targeting specific audiences which can result in a good return, or mean lots of people aren't attracted to it because it doesn't drawer anyone in.

The Wolf of Wall Street suffered due to the strong language used throughout, explicit sexual content and hard drug use, because of this the movie was banned from being screened in Kenya, Uganda and other surrounding areas. As you can see below, because of the films rating, it lost the chance to be shown in some places. This therefore causes the film to not make as much profit and also to let fans down who were highly anticipating the movie, until they found out it wasn't going to be shown at local cinemas which could cause feuds.

Therefore, before making a film it is important that we consider the implications of having certain certifications, and whether including certain things will reduce or increase the chance of selling a film, or whether you would be better off to have a wider target audience by reducing potentially harmful scenes.

An online article regarding the banning of the film in certain places.