BBFC classified record number of movies in 2025
June 29, 2026
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has published its 2025 Annual Report, revealing the highest number of cinema films classified in its 113-year history.
The report marks a year of significant strategic progress, including the first-ever deployment of a bespoke AI tool to support the launch of a major streaming service in the UK, expanded partnerships across the streaming sector, a potential new role in shaping the future regulation of online adult content, and deepened engagement with young people at a time when protecting children from harmful online content has never been more urgent.
Record cinema classifications
In 2025, the BBFC classified 1,315 feature films for cinema release, the highest number in its 113-year history and surpassing its 2024 record of 1,256. As in previous years, the 15 rating was the most frequently issued classification and applied to 45 per cent of cinema submissions, closely followed by 12A at 35 per cent. The 18 classification remained the least common, accounting for 4 per cent of cinema films.
Increased packaged media
The BBFC received 4,373 packaged media submissions in 2025 (content submitted for release on DVD and Blu-ray) — a small increase on the 4,342 received in 2024. A significant portion of this was driven by an increase in anime titles, which accounted for 40 per cent of all content submitted for release on physical formats (up from 38 per cent in 2024).
Parents who are unfamiliar with anime often assume it is inherently ‘child-friendly’, yet one third of the anime the BBFC classified in 2025 was rated 15 or 18. In this context, the BBFC commissioned new research to examine how UK audiences respond to sexualised content in anime — including sex references, nudity and abusive behaviour. The findings showed the BBFC’s approach to anime classification is strongly supported by the public, with 88 per cent of people saying they believe there is a genuine child protection risk if anime is not age-rated appropriately and consistently, and 91 per cent saying those ratings should apply wherever content is accessed — emphasising the need for consistent age ratings across different platforms and formats.
Partnerships with streaming services
The BBFC continued to expand its voluntary partnerships with streaming services in 2025. It now works with 27 licensees, covering 28 distinct brands and services, including Netflix, Prime Video and HBO Max.
2025 marked the fifth anniversary of the BBFC’s self-rating partnership with Netflix. This collaboration was the first of its kind between the BBFC and a streaming service and ensured that all of Netflix’s UK catalogue content is rated in line with the BBFC’s Classification Guidelines, a model that has since been adopted by others. BBFC research in 2025 found 96 per cent of parents find these ratings helpful when deciding what their children can watch on Netflix, and 77 per cent reported increased confidence in Netflix’s ratings knowing they are underpinned by BBFC standards.
In July, following a successful 12-month pilot, Prime Video also transitioned into a full self-rating partnership with the BBFC, whereby, the BBFC audits Prime Video’s age rating decisions and provides regular training to staff, ensuring the highest levels of accuracy.
Embracing technological innovation
The BBFC continued to adapt to major technological shifts affecting how audiences consume content. It developed and deployed a bespoke AI tool for the first time to support Compliance Officers ahead of HBO Max’s UK launch in March 2026, allowing the streamer’s entire catalogue to be classified in six months 一 a process that would otherwise have taken around 1,570 Compliance Officer working days. The AI tool generates detailed metadata that highlights specific compliance issues, such as violence, nudity, or language, for human review. Final age ratings and bespoke content advice remain the sole responsibility of BBFC Compliance Officers to ensure every title meets the highest classification standards.
This partnership is set to evolve in 2026, with the current agreement marking the first step towards a self-rating partnership that will allow the platform to produce BBFC ratings and content advice in-house for future HBO Max releases, similar to existing partnerships with Netflix and Prime Video.
Supporting young people
A core part of the BBFC’s mission is to protect children and young people from potentially harmful content. In 2025, the BBFC continued its work with the UK’s Mobile Network Operators to ensure they set their adult content filters in line with the BBFC’s 18 standard to protect children from harmful mobile content. The BBFC’s education team also reached over 2,800 children and young people through in-person and online school talks across all four nations of the UK.
The BBFC launched its Safer Screens Forum in 2025, bringing together experts from charities including Barnardo’s, the NSPCC, Mind, Women’s Aid, and the Samaritans to ensure its classification work is informed by those on the frontlines of child safety and mental wellbeing.
Looking ahead, the BBFC stands ready to take on a formal auditing role to ensure there is parity between how pornographic content is regulated offline and online.
Natasha Kaplinsky OBE, President of the British Board of Film Classification, said: “2025 was a year of enormous progress for the BBFC. We classified more cinema features than ever before, marked the fifth anniversary of our self-rating partnership with Netflix, and engaged with thousands of young people across the UK to help them navigate the changing online world. We continued to embrace technology so our classifications could be delivered as widely and efficiently as possible, including deploying our first ever bespoke AI tool to support HBO Max’s UK launch. We also played an active role in calling for stricter regulation of online pornography, supporting Baroness Bertin’s key recommendations that would help protect UK audiences from violent and abusive material online. With the UK Government committing to parity following the publication of the Independent Review of Pornography, and Ofcom’s new Video on Demand code set to place new responsibilities on streaming services, 2026 will be another defining year for the BBFC. Through it all, our mission remains unchanged: to help UK audiences make informed, confident viewing decisions while protecting them from harmful content.”
Phil Clapp, Chief Executive of the UK Cinema Association (UKCA), added: “The BBFC classifying a record-breaking 1,315 feature films in 2025 highlights the resilience and vitality of the UK cinema sector. Beyond the numbers, this also tells a powerful story about how people are choosing to spend their time, particularly with the recent rise of younger audiences flocking to the big screen. The role of the BBFC is now more important than ever in providing the trusted age ratings and expert content advice that cinema-goers have always relied upon.”
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