List of NC-17 rated films

This is a list of films rated NC-17 (No One 17 or Under Admitted; originally No Children Under 17 Admitted) by the Motion Picture Association of America's Classification and Rating Administration (CARA).
Titles with surrendered ratings are usually released unrated to avoid the stigma of NC-17. Some films are released without an MPAA rating because the filmmaker expects an NC-17.
Changes in ratings are due to resubmission or appeal by a film's producers. Films receiving an NC-17 are often cut and resubmitted in hopes of earning an R rating, which allows distribution to more outlets than an NC-17 rating. Still, there are some exceptions: for example, in 2004, Fox Searchlight Pictures released "The Dreamers" with an NC-17 rating; this film grossed $2.5 million in its United States theatrical release, a respectable result for a specialized film with a targeted audience. The same year, Sony Pictures Classics released "Bad Education" with an NC-17 rating; it grossed $5.2 million in the United States theatrically, earning back more than its budget of $5 million. Furthermore, in 2007, Focus Features released "Lust, Caution" with an NC-17 rating; it grossed $4.6 million in the United States theatrically, and Focus was very satisfied with the film's theatrical release. Also, in 2013, "Blue Is the Warmest Color" was released with an NC-17 rating, and it took in over $19 million overall.
NC-17 films also tended to gross more on the home media market. For example, "Showgirls" became one of MGM's top 20 all-time bestsellers, and "Lust, Caution" has generated more than $18 million from DVD rentals in the United States.
Occasionally an R-rated film will have footage or language added to earn an NC-17 rating and its accompanying notoriety. In at least one case, an R-rated film was re-rated NC-17 even though no edits were made: The 1969 Sam Peckinpah film "The Wild Bunch", originally rated R, was resubmitted by Warner Bros. in 1993 before an expected re-release; to their surprise, it was rated NC-17, delaying the re-release while the decision was appealed.
Some titles include the reasons the rating was given. In 1990, the Classification and Rating Administration began including a brief statement of the reason for a specific film's R rating; several years later it began giving reasons for all film ratings.
The NC-17 rating was created in 1990 to replace the X rating ("The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover", "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!", "Life Is Cheap... But Toilet Paper Is Expensive", and "" were all given X ratings that year). A majority of the films on this list either were edited to obtain an R and/or had the NC-17 rating surrendered. Few films have kept the rating for theatrical or DVD release.