X

Arts & Entertainment abbreviation · Film, Television and Theater

X
Stands forX rating
CategoriesArts & Entertainment

X stands for X rating, a film, television and theater abbreviation.

Former MPAA film rating, used from 1968 to 1990, meaning no one under 17 admitted. Unlike the other ratings, X was not trademarked, so any film could self-apply it.

Example: Midnight Cowboy was released with an X and later re-rated R.

Usage notes

Midnight Cowboy (1969) is the only X-rated film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Because adult-film distributors adopted the X for marketing, it became stigmatized, leading to its replacement by NC-17 in 1990. The UK's BBFC used an X certificate from 1951 to 1982.

More film, television and theater abbreviations

  • 12A – 12A
  • AD – Assistant director
  • ADR – Automated dialogue replacement
  • AMPAS – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  • ASM – Assistant stage manager
  • AVOD – Advertising-based video on demand
  • BAFTA – British Academy of Film and Television Arts
  • BBFC – British Board of Film Classification
  • BTS – Behind the scenes
  • CGI – Computer-generated imagery
  • CU – Close-up
  • DCEU – DC Extended Universe

See all 63 film, television and theater abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.