Family movies 'more profitable'

Finding Nemo is one of the biggest animated films of all time

Family movies are on average 11 times more profitable than films featuring explicit sex and violence, a US study has suggested.

A report by the Dove Foundation, which promotes family entertainment, said films like Finding Nemo made more money than those aimed at adult audiences.

Researchers studied more than 3,000 movies released from 1999 to 2003.

Dove Foundation chairman Dick Rolfe said family movies now "produced 11 times greater profit" than adult films.

Over the 15-year period, the report found Hollywood produced 123 films for viewers of all ages, which accounted for just 4% of the top 3,000 films.

Family movies

But they had an average profit per film of $79m (£43m).

At the same time, there were 1,533 films aimed at the over-18 audience, or 52% of the total. They made on average $7m (£3.8m) each.

The report found that the number of movies for all ages made by Hollywood had increased by 38% since 1999.

In the same period, the production of adult-orientated movies dropped by 12%.

Chairman Mr Rolfe said his group was not suggesting that Hollywood produce only family movies.

"We just think the proportionality is out of balance, given the relatively few, highly profitable family-friendly movies released each year," he said.

"Our study reveals that Hollywood is not serving the most prolific audience segment in the entertainment marketplace - the family."

The study comes amid an ongoing US national debate on decency standards for films and TV sparked by Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" at last year's Superbowl.