.png)
1 week ago
7 ARTICLE AD
Horror flick Five Nights at Freddy’s and Billie Eilish’s Live At The O2 concert film were the subject of the most complaints lodged with the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) in 2023, according to the body’s annual report.
The BBFC received 26 complaints about Five Nights at Freddy’s and 17 about Billie Eilish Live At The O2. All of the complaints were in relation to the age ratings of the films. Both were given 15 ratings. Each of the complaints was from cinemagoers under 15 who were unable to see the films.
The BBFC said it handed Five Nights At Freddy’s a 15 rating because the flick “features scenes of strong and sustained threat.”
“The intensity of these scenes and their frequency within the film meant that we were unable to classify the film at 12A,” the body said.
Billie Eilish Live At The O2 was handed a 15 rating because “the volume of strong language exceeded what is acceptable at 12A under our guidelines.” As a result, the film’s UK distributor re-cut the film, editing out any strong language, and it was later handed a 12A rating.
Overall, the BFFC received 148 complaints about age classifications in 2023. The body received 109 in 2022, 90 in 2021, and 94 in 2020. Away from age classifications, the BBFC clocked 400 general complaints about The Kerala Story, a Malayalam drama in which a suspected terrorist is recruited by Islamist militants.
The BBFC said the complaints regarding The Kerala Story largely focused on a delay in the classification of the film. A significant amount of complaints also stated the film was offensive to Islam.
In response, the BBFC said: “Our classification process generally takes a few days. However, the film’s multiple rape scenes required that it be referred for review by senior staff. This is common practice in relation to films which raise challenging classification issues. We considered these scenes carefully and subsequently classified The Kerala Story 18 for sexual violence.”
Elsewhere in the report, the BBFC said it classified 1,114 feature films for cinema releases. This is up from 2022’s 1,057 and continues an upward trajectory reported by the organization. 659 films were classified in 2021 and there were 619 in 2020. In 2019, the last pre-pandemic year, 1,103 cinema features were classified.
Discussing the increase, BBFC CEO David Austin, said: “It was encouraging to see cinema submissions increase in 2023. Looking forward, the BBFC will continue to deliver on our mission to support safer viewing experiences for UK audiences by supporting the cinema and home entertainment industries, as well as extending and enhancing our best-practice partnerships with streaming services.”
