G, PG clean up at the box office

The audience has spoken: An annual study of the moral content in Hollywood movies has found that films flaunting sex, nudity, violence, foul language and criminal behavior do not resonate in America.

They simply don’t sell.

In an analysis of American box-office receipts for 250 movies released last year, the Christian Film & Television Commission (CFTVC) found that films that stressed “strong moral content” made an average $92,546,413 — six times the revenue of those that focused on “immoral, negative content.”

Those movies brought in an average $14,626,234.

On a broader scope, the study also found that from 2000 to 2003, movies with “no nudity” brought in an average $137.8 million across the nation.

Films that depicted “full male and/or female nudity” in those same years brought in an average of $43 million, however.

“Clearly, sex does not sell as well as the mass media wants us to believe,” said Ted Baehr, chairman of the California-based CFTVC, which offers movie reviews based on a Christian perspective and biblical principles.

“Movies rated G and PG consistently earn two or three times as much money on average as movies rated R,” he added.

So why does Hollywood persist in producing dubious fare at financial risk?

“It’s caused by an entrenched mind-set,” said Andrew Breitbart, co-author of “Hollywood Interrupted: Insanity Chic in Babylon — the Case Against Celebrity,” published this year.

“The concept of affirming the basic and traditional values of flyover country is absolute anathema to these filmmakers. They live in an isolated world, which is nihilist to the core — the more cynical you are, the hipper you seem,” Mr. Breitbart said.

“But this is a company town. Everyone knows what philosophical posturing to adopt to get along in it. So they keep making R-rated movies,” he said.

Others in the industry agree that family fare is simply better business.

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