PG-rated movies — an update

Remember that item I posted here in June, when Nacho Libre and The Lake House opened in the same week — thus presenting us with the highly unusual spectacle of not one, but two, brand new PG-rated movies for grown-ups? At the time, I noted:

Of the 23 weekends so far this year, the #1 movie has been PG-13 or R-rated almost every time, the sole exceptions being last week’s G-rated Cars and five earlier PG-rated films (Glory Road, Eight Below, Ice Age: The Meltdown, The Pink Panther, RV), virtually all of which were made for children or family audiences — with the possible exception of The Pink Panther, which was originally going to be a PG-13 film produced by MGM/UA, until Sony bought the studio and sent it back for re-shoots to tone things down.

Virtually all the other new films this year that have made the weekly top ten have been PG-13 or R-rated, too, except for eight PG-rated films (Hoodwinked, Nanny McPhee, Aquamarine, The Shaggy Dog, Akeelah and the Bee, Hoot, Over the Hedge, An Inconvenient Truth) and three G-rated films (Curious George, Doogal, The Wild), all of which were made for children — with the sole exception of Al Gore’s documentary on global warming.

I chanced upon that post tonight, while searching for information on something else, and figured I’d provide an update.

First of all, virtually all the #1 films since then have been PG-13 or R-rated, the only exceptions being the PG-rated sports movie Invincible and the PG-rated cartoon Open Season.

Second, virtually all the other new films this year that have made the weekly top ten have been PG-13 or R-rated, too, except for eight PG-rated films (Monster House, The Ant Bully, Zoom, Material Girls, Barnyard: The Original Party Animals, One Night with the King, Flicka, Flushed Away) and two G-rated films (Everyone’s Hero, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause), all of which were made for children — or, in the case of One Night…, for Christians, which alas sometimes amounts to the same thing.

The trend continues this weekend, with the release of the PG-rated cartoon Happy Feet and the PG-13 or R-rated everything else.