A check of Filmratings.com, the website of the MPAA's Classification And Ratings Administration, reveals that the upcoming fourth Harry Potter film, Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, has been given a PG-13 rating for "sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images." This will be the first of the Harry Potter films to not have the family-friendly PG rating.
There has been no word about whether or not Warner Brothers will try to edit the film so it can get a PG. I don't think they will do such a thing as it would probably alienate Potter fans, especially since it is well-known how dark Goblet Of Fire is. However, even with Pottermania at a high, making the jump from PG to PG-13 within a previously kid-friendly movie series is going to be tricky. The Harry Potter books are no longer just considered "kiddie" literature but what about the films? Will the moviegoing audience that has not read the books be able to accept an even darker, scarier Potter? Will there be outcry from parents regarding how this film won't be suitable for their younger children? Will there be enough of a teen and adult audience for the film to offset the potential decrease in children and family audiences? Is the Potter brand strong enough so that none of this will even matter?
As the film's November release date gets closer and closer, we will have to see how well Warner Brothers handles the marketing for this film. The teaser trailer shows a montage of how the three main actors have grown up over the course of the films. This may be a subtle way to suggest that this film is more for the fans that have grown older with the books/films as opposed to the young fans who discover them everyday. If they can pull this off, it certainly bodes well for the eventual film adaptations of the final three books.
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - with karate ill kik ur ass
the 4th book was certainly the best book for me. even though it is darker than the previous 3, it is certainly not as dark as the 5th and 6th book, (which in my opinion r going to crap movies). im am looking forwards to the movie but , worried that they wont be able to fit everything in. i hav seen a picture of the dragon they r using 4 harry's first task and it looks to complicated and elaberate. they should hav made it like the 1 on the cover of the 4th book.
2 - Zenaida
I think that it is FANTASTIC that Goblet got a PG-13 rating, and I DON'T think WB should cut it down. The series of books is growing up; therefore, so should the films. For example, there's no way that the 6th film can get just a PG (if it did, the fans would be mutinous), so WB might as well make the transition gradual and start moving up with the fourth film. I think it should be at least PG-13 from here on. In Half-Blood Prince, Harry is sixteen, so do we really want it to look like a '9-year old film'? I don't. Same thing with the fifth and seventh.
3 - Victor Plenty
Books 4, 5, 6: PG-13. Book 7: R. That would rock. Never happen, of course, but it would be so totally appropriate and cool if it did.
4 - with karate ill kik ur ass
if u want the 7th movie to R, wat r u sexpecting harry to be doing victor.....ah?
5 - with karate ill kik ur ass
what the hell is an R anyway, is it like wat we have, an 18?
6 - Dragon Ice
I think that they should not what so ever change the rating. PG-13 is perfect for the movie. The book was really scary when I first read it, and that's why I liked it! Most Harry potter fans are older then 13 anyway because they have been fans since the first book came out. Who care about the kids who get scared when watching the movie, if they had read the book they would have known that it was going to really scary! Personally I can't wait to be scared.
7 - Victor Plenty
R means "under 17 not admitted without parent." Since the main characters will almost all be at least 17 by year 7 at Hogwarts (if I recall correctly), it could be appropriate.
8 - NancyGail
I just recently finished book 6 of HP. The previous one is probably the darkest of the bunch. However, this latest one may not be suitable for really young children, since the themes would be over their heads.
9 - with karate ill kik ur ass
no seriously victor, wat r u expecting to happen in the 7th book. it couldn't be an 18, coz then even all the teenagers that actually read harry potter wouldn't be able to go see it!
10 - Victor Plenty
Many mainstream movies get an R rating in the U.S., Karate. It doesn't make a movie pornographic, if that's what you're implying. War movies often get rated R because they realistically show battlefield violence, and book 7 might have the conflicts between good and evil escalate into open war between the Death Eaters and the forces of good.
Many horror movies also get the rating for their disturbing concepts. There is certainly great potential for disturbing supernatural horror in the Harry Potter stories. But I don't have specific plot details in mind when I say it would be cool for the seventh film to be rated R.
The concept appeals to me on an artistic level, because each book is written for a more mature audience than the last. The young kids who get into book 1 aren't really prepared to understand the complex undercurrents Rowling introduces by books 4 and 5. Having the final book be "R" material would show a culmination in that process.
11 - with karate ill kik ur ass
i no i was only messing with u, i don't think it would be an r rating , i think i would bea 15.
12 - charléne
i like daniel radclif!!!! he is a very gout actor and he is very beatiful !!but i can se him !! i'm frenche !!
13 - with karate ill kik ur ass
ok......the word is good, not gout. and u mean can't not can, and see not se and i think u mean attractive not beautiful, but watever floats ur boat.
14 - Duane
She's French. Cut her some slack. And you mean "whatever," not "watever." And what is u and ur? Babylonian?
15 - Victor Plenty
"Gout" in French is like "good" in English, I expect.
Also, males can be beautiful, although it tends to be mostly females who think of guys that way.
Oh, and Karate, the word is you, not u. And whatever, not watever, and your, not ur. Heh heh.
16 - Talia
I am SOOOOOOO pissed off at warner brothers. i could KILL them!!! what kind of a Q is the last 1????? OF COURSE IT IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! even if the movie was rated PG13 the little 5-year-olds will go and watch it with their parents b/c everybody loves HP so much! UGH im SOOOOO pissed! the fun part a/b reading the book is amagining what it will look like on the screen and its not fun knowing your favorite part in a long book is baing edited out!!!!!! i would HATE it!!! UGH!!!
17 - Victor Plenty
Wait. You lost me. How pissed off are you? Could you express that in terms of a number, or maybe put together some kind of a graph? Thanks.
18 - talia
how old r u, victor?
19 - talia
i am in LOVE with daniel radcliffe. i cannot use words to describe him. he is the single most gorgeoug thing on the planet. its so easy to fade into his and melt into an alternate universe with him while you`re mesmorized with him in the clouds above
i love him........
o and victor- i meant like a 9 in 10.
20 - Ashley
I'm actually excited that Harry Potter has taken on a PG-13 rating. Things start to get darker and more violent from Goblet of Fire on. Even though people say the movie is not appropriate for young children, I expect to see children as young as four in the movie theater when it comes out. To a lot of Harry Potter fans (including me), the rating really doesn't matter, in fact, it may even make the movie better. I would also like to see the sixth or seventh movie rated R, that would be awesome!
21 - Carie
I am very, very excited to see Harry Potter & GOF!!!!! I am especailly happy that there will be a pg-13 rating I think this movie will be more like the book than any other of the movies. It's good that they are making the movies more mature, Harry and everyone else is growing up so am I and as for the little kids they'll still be able to see the movie with their parents but I think some of them might be surprized.?.
22 - katie
all i've got to say that i am really annoyed, because i live in france and i aint that good at french yet, and i really want to see the movie, so i either go and see it in french, or wait untill it comes out on DVD, which sucks if you ask me!
23 - Laura
i was soo excited when i heard the rating! i love harry potter and i know that if the movie was pg rated it really wouldnt follow the book. the kids get older and the books get dark. it would be pretty sad if it was pg.
24 - Bobman_53
Harry Potter 4 is going to be just perfect as a PG-13. Murder, Ressurection of Voldemort and other things will make it frightening for younger people. numbers 5 and 6 will likely be the same especially considering Dumbledore's death. Number 7 nobody knows about because the book isn't even done yet!!!
25 - eriqo
PG-13 is as good as it gets. We can't have anything higher coz that would include strong language content, and this is mainly a children's book, and thank God it wasn't lower coz that would mean there wasn't any good stuff in it.
I can't wait to watch the duel between Voldy and Dumby in order of the phoenix!!!