The MPAA has rated the upcoming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince film “PG,” down from from the “PG-13” content rating that the prior two movies had recieved. The Motion Picture Association of America’s exact wording was “Rated PG for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality.”

This comes as great surprise to readers of the Harry Potter series, as the sixth book is noticeably darker than even its predecessor, and contains more mature content…in addition to being more violent. There are some graphic scenes involving undead creatures, the murder of Albus Dumbledore, and a gory moment where Draco Malfoy’s chest is sliced open by one of the Prince’s spells.

This continues a trend of increasingly worthless content ratings in the United States, and the MPAA possibly siding with the production houses to increase profits. Logically a lower-rated film will earn more money, as larger audiences will attend. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is a prime example of this effect. The film probably should have been rated R for some disturbingly violent scenes (such as a pirate having his face ripped off…), but its rating was softened to PG-13 because an R rating would have majorly impacted sales. Apparently there is no limit to violence, but if you drop an f-bomb or two the movie will recieve an R rating.

Via The Leaky Cauldron.