# X rating

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Film rating denoting content suitable only for adults

"Rated X" redirects here. For other uses, see [Rated X (disambiguation)](/source/Rated_X_(disambiguation)).

"X Rated" redirects here. For the album, see [X Rated (album)](/source/X_Rated_(album)).

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An **X rating** is a [film rating](/source/Film_rating) that indicates that the film contains content that is considered to be suitable only for adults. Films with an X rating may have scenes of [graphic violence](/source/Graphic_violence) or explicit sexual acts that may be disturbing or offensive to some viewers. The X rating is used in different ways by different countries, and it may have legal or commercial implications for the distribution and exhibition of such films. For example, some countries may ban or restrict the sale or rental of X-rated films, while others may allow them only in specific theaters or with special taxes. Some countries may also have different criteria or definitions for what constitutes an X-rated film, and some may consider the artistic merit of the film as a factor in classification. The X rating has been renamed or replaced by other ratings in some countries over time.

## Australia

The [Australian Classification Board](/source/Australian_Classification_Board) (ACB, formerly known as the OFLC), a government institution, issues ratings for all movies and television shows exhibited, televised, sold, or hired in Australia. Material showing explicit, non-simulated sex that is pornographic in nature is rated **X18+**.[1]

People under 18 may not buy, rent, exhibit, or view these films in cinemas. The exhibition or sale of these films to people under the age of 18 years is a criminal offence carrying a maximum fine of $5,500. Films classified as X18+ are forbidden from being sold or rented anywhere in the six [states of Australia](/source/States_and_territories_of_Australia#States). They are legally available to be sold or hired in the [Australian Capital Territory](/source/Australian_Capital_Territory) and the [Northern Territory](/source/Northern_Territory). Importing X18+ material from these territories to any of the Australian states is legal, as the [constitution](/source/Constitution_of_Australia) forbids any restrictions on trade between the states and territories.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## France

Films may be shown in theaters in France only after classification by an administrative commission of the [Ministry of Culture](/source/Ministry_of_Culture_(France)). In 1975, the **X classification** (officially: "pornographic or violence-inciting movies", *films pornographiques ou d'incitation à la violence*) was created for pornographic movies, or movies with successions of scenes of graphic violence. The commission has some leeway in classification; it may for instance take into account the artistic qualities of a movie to not count it as "pornographic". Movies with an X rating may only be shown in specific theaters; they bear higher tax rates and cannot receive any aid from the *[Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée](/source/Centre_national_du_cin%C3%A9ma_et_de_l'image_anim%C3%A9e)*, whether for the movies themselves or for the theaters screening these movies.[2][3] Some of these taxes were repealed in 2020 as part of an effort to reduce "low-yield" taxes.[4][5]

1100 movies were X-rated in France, with the last classification occurring in 1996, as pornography went from theaters to video, which doesn't undergo as much control as cinema. The last [adult movie theater](/source/Adult_movie_theater) in Paris, the [Beverley](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverley_(cin%C3%A9ma)) in [Paris](/source/Paris), closed down in 2019 only leaving the Vox in [Grenoble](/source/Grenoble).[6][7][8]

Only ten movies were X-rated for violence: [*Open Season*](/source/Open_Season_(1974_film)) by [Collinson](/source/Peter_Collinson_(film_director)), [*Lola*](/source/Lola_(1974_film)) by [José María Forqué](/source/Jos%C3%A9_Mar%C3%ADa_Forqu%C3%A9), *Pique Nique* ([short film](/source/Short_film)) by Gérard Bienfait, *[The Texas Chain Saw Massacre](/source/The_Texas_Chain_Saw_Massacre)* by [Tobe Hooper](/source/Tobe_Hooper), [*Hitch-Hike*](/source/Hitch-Hike_(film)) by [Pasquale Festa Campanile](/source/Pasquale_Festa_Campanile), *[Return of the 38 Gang](/source/Return_of_the_38_Gang)* by [Giuseppe Vari](/source/Giuseppe_Vari), [*The Warriors*](/source/The_Warriors_(film)) by [Walter Hill](/source/Walter_Hill), *[Frauengefängnis 3](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frauengef%C3%A4ngnis_3&action=edit&redlink=1) [[de](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frauengef%C3%A4ngnis_3)]* by [Jesús Franco](/source/Jes%C3%BAs_Franco), [Mad Max](/source/Mad_Max_(film)) by [George Miller](/source/George_Miller_(filmmaker)) and *[Dawn of the Dead](/source/Dawn_of_the_Dead_(1978_film))* by [George A. Romero](/source/George_A._Romero); most of these subsequently received lower ratings. For example, *The Warriors* and *Mad Max* are now rated '12'.

In 2000, some conservative associations sued the government for granting the movie *[Baise-moi](/source/Baise-moi)* (*Fuck me*), which contained graphic, realistic scenes of sex and violence, a non-X classification. The [Council of State](/source/Council_of_State_(France)) ruled that the movie should have been rated X as it was then the only rating which banned this films to minors. The decision was highly controversial, and the '18' rating was reestablished for movies not pornographic or violence-inciting; *Baise-moi* became the first movie to have been awarded the newly reestablished '18' rating, which had been replaced by '16' in 1990.[9][10][11][12]

In 2009, *Histoires de sexe(s)* by [Ovidie](/source/Ovidie) and Jack Tyler was ordered by the Classification Board to be X-rated; the directors then withdrew their demand for a cinema certificate and released their movie [direct-to-video](/source/Direct-to-video).[13][14]

## United Kingdom

Main article: [History of British film certificates](/source/History_of_British_film_certificates)

Two "X" symbols used by the [British Board of Film Classification](/source/British_Board_of_Film_Classification) (1951–1970 and 1970–1982, respectively)

The original **X certificate**, replacing the [H certificate](/source/H_certificate), was issued between 1951 and 1982 by the [British Board of Film Censors](/source/British_Board_of_Film_Censors) in the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom). It was introduced as a result of the [Wheare](/source/Kenneth_Wheare) Report on film censorship.[15] From 1951 to 1970, it meant "For exhibition when no child under 16 is present" and from 1970 to 1982 it was redefined as meaning "Suitable for those aged 18 and over". The X certificate was replaced in November 1982 by the [18 certificate](/source/18_(British_Board_of_Film_Classification)).

Sometimes the rating of a film has changed significantly over time. For example, the French film *[Jules and Jim](/source/Jules_and_Jim)* received an X rating in 1962 that was reduced to a PG (Parental Guidance) rating in 1991, and later raised to 12A in 2021.[16] In some cases, films with extreme political content received an X rating. *[Battleship Potemkin](/source/Battleship_Potemkin)* was refused a certificate for "inflammatory subtitles and [Bolshevik](/source/Bolshevist) propaganda" in 1926, passed X in 1954, and finally rated PG in 1987.[17]

## United States

Until 1990, the X rating was used by the Motion Picture Association of America for films deemed only suitable for adults.

In the [United States](/source/United_States), the **X rating** was applied to a film that contained content judged unsuitable for [children](/source/Children), such as extreme violence, strongly implied sex, and graphic language. When the [MPAA film rating system](/source/Motion_Picture_Association_of_America_film_rating_system) began in North America on November 1, 1968, the X rating was given to a film by the Motion Picture Association of America (now the [Motion Picture Association](/source/Motion_Picture_Association)) if submitted to it, or due to its non-trademarked status, it could be self-applied to a film by a distributor that knew beforehand that its film contained content unsuitable for minors. From the [late 1960s](/source/New_Hollywood) to about the [mid-1980s](/source/1980s_in_film), many mainstream films were released with an X rating, such as *[Midnight Cowboy](/source/Midnight_Cowboy)*, *[Medium Cool](/source/Medium_Cool)*, *[The Girl on a Motorcycle](/source/The_Girl_on_a_Motorcycle)*, *[Last Summer](/source/Last_Summer_(1969_film))*, *[Last of the Mobile Hot Shots](/source/Last_of_the_Mobile_Hot_Shots)*, *[Beyond the Valley of the Dolls](/source/Beyond_the_Valley_of_the_Dolls)*, *[The Street Fighter](/source/The_Street_Fighter)*, *[A Clockwork Orange](/source/A_Clockwork_Orange_(film))*, *[Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song](/source/Sweet_Sweetback's_Baadasssss_Song)*, *[Fritz the Cat](/source/Fritz_the_Cat_(film))*, *[Flesh Gordon](/source/Flesh_Gordon)*, *[Alice in Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Comedy](/source/Alice_in_Wonderland_(1976_film))*, *[Last Tango in Paris](/source/Last_Tango_in_Paris)* and *[The Evil Dead](/source/The_Evil_Dead_(1981_film))*. Films that achieved critical and commercial success were later re-rated R after minor cuts, including *Midnight Cowboy* and *A Clockwork Orange.* The threat of an X rating also encouraged filmmakers to [re-edit](/source/Re-edited_film) their films to achieve an R rating; one notable example of this was the 1987 action film *[RoboCop](/source/RoboCop)*, which had to be edited eleven times before it could attain an R rating.[18]

Because the X rating was not trademarked, anybody could apply it to their films, including pornographers, as many began to do in the 1970s. As [pornography](/source/Pornography) began to become more popular and more legally and commercially tolerated, pornographers placed an X rating on their films to emphasize the adult content. Some even started using multiple X's (i.e. XX, XXX, etc.) to give the impression that their film contained more graphic sexual content than the simple X rating. In some cases, the X ratings were applied by reviewers or film scholars, e.g. [William Rotsler](/source/William_Rotsler), who wrote "The XXX-rating is for [hardcore](/source/Hardcore_pornography), the XX-rating is for [softcore](/source/Softcore_pornography), and an X-rating is for comparatively cool films."[19] Nothing beyond the simple X rating has ever been officially recognized by the MPAA. Because of the heavy use of the X rating by pornographers, it became associated largely with pornographic films, so that non-pornographic films given an X rating would have fewer theaters willing to book them and fewer venues for advertising. Many newspapers refused to advertise X-rated films. This led to a number of films being released unrated sometimes with a warning that the film contained content for adults only. In response, the MPAA eventually agreed in 1990 to a new [NC-17](/source/Motion_Picture_Association_of_America_film_rating_system#X_replaced_by_NC-17) rating that would be trademarked, and could only be applied by the MPAA itself. By [trademarking](/source/Trademark) the rating, the MPAA committed to defending an NC-17 film charged with violating [obscenity laws](/source/Obscenity_laws).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## See also

- [List of NC-17 rated films](/source/List_of_NC-17_rated_films)

- [List of AO-rated video games](/source/List_of_AO-rated_video_games)

- [.xxx](/source/.xxx), top-level Internet domain

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["What are the ratings?"](https://www.classification.gov.au/classification-ratings/what-are-ratings#X18+). *Australian Classification*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240921102544/https://www.classification.gov.au/classification-ratings/what-are-ratings#X18+) from the original on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Film classification | CNC"](https://www.cnc.fr/web/en/about/regulatory-function/film-classification). *www.cnc.fr*. Retrieved 2024-12-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Davies, Adam P.; Wistreich, Nicol (2007). [*The Film Finance Handbook: How to Fund Your Film*](https://books.google.com/books?id=z4yWr9LzBeAC&dq=%22violence-inciting%22+movies+france&pg=PA211). Netribution. p. 211. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-9550143-2-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-9550143-2-1).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** darkness-fanzine.over-blog.com. ["Le Parlement abroge les dispositions fiscales votées en 1975 pour les films à caractère pornographique ou d'incitation à la violence"](http://darkness-fanzine.over-blog.com/2020/12/le-parlement-abroge-les-dispositions-fiscales-votees-en-1975-pour-les-films-a-caractere-pornographique-ou-d-incitation-a-la-violence). *CENSURE & CINEMA* (in French). Retrieved 2024-12-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Le Roy, Marc (December 18, 2020). ["Majorité et opposition en plein consensus pour supprimer une partie de la fiscalité confiscatoire appliquée à la pornographie"](https://www.droitducinema.fr/taxe.html). *www.droitducinema.fr*. Retrieved 2024-12-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Le Beverley, le dernier cinéma pornographique de Paris, baisse le rideau"](https://www.lefigaro.fr/cinema/2019/02/21/03002-20190221ARTFIG00189--le-beverley-le-dernier-cinema-pornographique-de-paris-baisse-le-rideau.php). *Le Figaro* (in French). 2019-02-21. Retrieved 2024-12-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["The last porn cinema in Paris, Le Beverley, comes to an end"](https://www.sbs.com.au/language/french/en/article/the-last-porn-cinema-in-paris-le-beverley-comes-to-an-end/tsk3lcyq6). *SBS Language*. Retrieved 2024-12-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** darkness-fanzine.over-blog.com. ["Le dernier cinéma porno de France fermera ses portes le 31 décembre 2017. Est-ce la fin du classement pornographique au cinéma ?"](http://darkness-fanzine.over-blog.com/2017/12/le-dernier-cinema-porno-de-france-fermera-le-31-decembre-2017.la-fin-du-classement-pornographique-au-cinema.html). *CENSURE & CINEMA* (in French). Retrieved 2024-12-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Sharkey, Alix (2002-04-14). ["Scandale!"](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2002/apr/14/filmcensorship.features). *The Observer*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0029-7712](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0029-7712). Retrieved 2024-12-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["French judges overrule censors"](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/jul/05/news1). *The Guardian*. 2000-07-05. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0261-3077](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0261-3077). Retrieved 2024-12-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["« Baise-moi », le film de Virginie Despentes et Coralie Trinh Thi classé X par le Conseil d'Etat"](https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/2000/07/02/baise-moi-le-film-de-virginie-despentes-et-coralie-trinh-thi-classe-x-par-le-conseil-d-etat_3710583_1819218.html) (in French). 2000-07-02. Retrieved 2024-12-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** [""Baise-moi" : la mobilisation s'amplifie"](https://www.nouvelobs.com/culture/20000705.OBS5835/baise-moi-la-mobilisation-s-amplifie.html). *Le Nouvel Obs* (in French). 2000-07-05. Retrieved 2024-12-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Le cinéma menacé par l'autocensure des réalisateurs"](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2010/04/18/le-cinema-menace-par-l-autocensure-des-realisateurs_1335212_3246.html) (in French). 2010-04-18. Retrieved 2024-12-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["Histoires de Sexe(s) d'Ovidie et Jack Tyler ixifié pour pornographie !"](https://albertmontagne.blogspot.com/2009/11/histoires-de-sexes-dovidie-et-jack_10.html) (in French). Retrieved 2024-12-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-screen_15-0)** ["Wheare Report, The (1950)"](http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/592670/index.html). *Screenonline*. Retrieved 12 November 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["Jules And Jim"](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/jules-and-jim-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0ynzc3nzm). *[British Board of Film Classification](/source/British_Board_of_Film_Classification)*. Retrieved 10 June 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** [Case Study:Battleship Potemkin](http://www.sbbfc.co.uk/CaseStudies/Battleship_Potemkin) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120301233439/http://www.sbbfc.co.uk/CaseStudies/Battleship_Potemkin) March 1, 2012, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Backstory RoboCop AMC"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130718170224/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzBkjTxD1a0). YouTube. Archived from [the original](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzBkjTxD1a0) on July 18, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** Rotslter, William. *Contemporary Erotic Cinema*. New York: [Penthouse](/source/Penthouse_(magazine))/[Ballantine Books](/source/Ballantine_Books), 1973. page 251.

## External links

- [*Screen Online* article about the X certificate](http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/591679/index.html)

- [Refused Classification](http://www.refused-classification.com/) Website covering in varying detail many films that have run foul of the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification, with separate sections for hardcore films and video games

- [Explanation of X-ratings in the US](http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-adelphia2feb02,0,7840216.story?coll=la-home-headlines)

- [How "X-rated" Came to Mean "Porn" and the Death of Movies for Grown-ups A brief history of the social and legal forces that drove adult themes out of the legitimate cinema, by film director Tony Comstock](http://www.comstockfilms.com/blog/tony/2007/08/07/how-x-rated-came-to-mean-porn-and-the-death-of-movies-for-grown-ups/)[Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20190418021700/http://www.comstockfilms.com/blog/tony/2007/08/07/how-x-rated-came-to-mean-porn-and-the-death-of-movies-for-grown-ups/) April 18, 2019, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

- [Australian government says yes to R18+ video games bill](http://www.news.com.au/technology/gaming/ban-lifted-it-only-took-10-years-but-government-gives-r18-video-games-the-go-ahead/story-e6frfrt9-1226271652456)

v t e Pornography Classification By media Audio Cartoon Hentai Tijuana bible Film Actor Parody Internet Magazines List Video games Eroge By type Amateur Child Erotica Simulated Feminist Generative AI Deepfake Hardcore Mobile Revenge Sexting Softcore By genre Alt Bondage Convent Ethnic Furry Gang bang Gonzo Incest MILF Mormon My Little Pony Panda Rape Reality Sissy hypno Tentacle LGBTQ: Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Women's Industry Adult movie theater Not safe for work R18 certificate X rating Organizations Adult Film Association of America Critics Adult Film Association Fans of X-Rated Entertainment Free Speech Coalition X-Rated Critics Organization List of pornography companies List of pornographic film studios Fuck for Forest Page 3 People British performers Gay male performers Pornographic actors who appeared in mainstream films Mainstream actors who have appeared in pornographic films Film directors List of hentai creators Events Adultcon AVN Adult Entertainment Expo Barcelona International Erotic Film Festival Brussels International Festival of Eroticism Exotic Erotic Ball Exxxotica Expo HUMP! Porn Sunday Views Feminist Sex-positive feminist Religious Opposition Anti-pornography movement in the United Kingdom Anti-pornography movement in the United States Antipornography Civil Rights Ordinance Organizations Churchmen's Committee for Decent Publications Feminists Fighting Pornography Fight the New Drug The Marriage Vow NoFap No More Page 3 Stop Bild Sexism Stop Child Trafficking Now Stop Porn Culture Women Against Pornography Women Against Violence in Pornography and Media XXXchurch.com Overuse Accountability software Employee monitoring software Internet filter Parental controls Possible effects Pornography addiction STDs Effects on young people Miscellaneous Blue Movie History Golden Age Pornification Pornotopia Rule 34 Overwatch Pokémon Sexualization See also Erotica Art Comics Film Literature Photography Lesbian Women's Human female sexuality Human male sexuality Human sexual activity Nudity Ribaldry Sex-positive feminism Sex-positive movement Sex shop Sexual content Sexual and reproductive health and rights Sexual repression Sexual revolution Stanley v. Georgia Imagery of nude celebrities sex tape Category Erotica and pornography portal Human sexuality portal

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [X rating](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_rating) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_rating?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.