Theaters Improve in Enforcing R Ratings

Although movie theaters showed improvement in keeping underage children out of R-rated films, the Federal Trade Commission found less enforcement on age-inappropriate material among music, video game and DVD retailers.

Results of the FTC’s annual “mystery shopper” study found that 69% of underage shoppers were able to buy games rated M for mature audiences; 83% were able to buy recordings labeled as explicit; and 36% were successful in purchasing tickets to an R-rated film at movie theaters. Among DVD retailers, surveyed for the first time, 81% of the teen shoppers were successful in buying R-rated movies on DVD.

The findings represent an improvement over 2001, when 48% of underage moviegoers got into R-rated pictures at theaters, 90% bought explicit recordings and 78% were able to buy M-rated video games.