BBFC News

Marching Powder is a 2025 comedy thriller by Nick Love
Starring Stephanie Leonidas, Danny Dyer and Philippe Brenninkmeyer

BBFC cuts were required for 2025 cinema and video release.

Summary Notes

Middle-aged Jack, arrested for drugs, strives in 6 weeks to repair marriage, curb bullying in-law, and guide stepbrother Kenny Boy, but his efforts fail as life spirals out of control.

Versions

cut run: 96:03s pal: 92:12s		UK: cut and BBFC 18 rated for very strong language, sex references after BBFC cuts: 2025 True Brit Entertainment video (rated 28/02/2025) 2025 True Brit Entertainment cinema release (rated 21/02/2025) The BBFC commented: Company was required to make a compulsory change to one scene to remove a potentially indecent image involving a child. The original version of the scene showed a child in the same shot as some explicit material playing on a laptop behind him. Company addressed this issue by substituting the images on the laptop screen with non explicit images. Cut made in accordance with the Protection of Children Act 1978. No footage was removed as the cuts were made by digital substitution.
uncut run: 96:03s pal: 92:12s		Ireland: Uncut and IFCO 18 rated for very strong drugs and language, strong violence and sexual content: 2025 True Brit cinema release (2025 rated 04/02/2025)

The BBFC writes in a press release:

The British Board of Film Classification welcomes today's report from the Independent Pornography Review.

As the UK's statutory regulator of film and video content, the classification of offline pornographic content has been a key part of our role for decades.

However, for many years, we have been concerned about the accessibility of violent and abusive pornography online that we would not classify and therefore would be illegal to distribute offline, on physical formats such as DVD and Blu-ray.

We know that this concern is shared by people across the UK, and there is a growing body of evidence which demonstrates the impact of harmful pornography on society.

We stand ready to work with the UK government as they respond to Baroness Bertin's recommendations, including by taking on a formal role as auditor.

President of the British Board of Film Classification, Natasha Kaplinsky said:

The BBFC welcomes Baroness Bertin's thoughtful and ambitious report. For too long, violent and abusive pornography that would be illegal to distribute offline has been freely available online 203 to children and adults alike. It is no surprise that the review has found this content, and its influence, to be deep-rooted in society; its harm potential, abundant.

We believe parity between how pornographic content is regulated offline and online can be achieved. We've been regulating offline pornographic content for 40 years and we stand ready to work with the government on the recommendations of the review to better protect audiences online 203 including by bringing our unparalleled expertise to take on a formal role auditing online pornography.

The BBFC have, surprisingly, begun using the "very strong" tag for violence again, after seemingly retiring it in the mid 2010s - an indie horror called A Desert has been classified 18 for "brief very strong violence".

If I remember correctly the tag was previously last used in 2016 for an episode of Game Of Thrones.

No idea why it was retired, given screen violence has reached exceedingly graphic levels over the past few years, what with the Terrifier franchise and the likes of Possessor and Infinity Pool .