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The King's Speech to Be Re-Edited?

Director Tom Hooper's historical drama The King's Speech tells the story of England's then-Prince Albert (Colin Firth) and his struggle to overcome a speech impediment with the help of an Australian actor-speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush). Firth won a Golden Globe for his performance and when the Oscar nominations were announced on Tuesday, The King's Speech received more than any other movie, with a total of 12 nominations.

Since Tuesday's Oscars announcement, THR reports that ticket sales for The King's Speech have risen 76% on Internet vendor Fandango, just one sign of how the nominations will improve the movie's performance. So, with everything going so well, why is The Weinstein Company looking to re-cut the movie?

The reason is economics. The LA Times reports that executive producer Harvey Weinstein is looking to "unleash a new marketing strategy" that would include re-editing the movie to remove some of its profanity in order to change its rating from "R" to a more family-friendly one. The movie received a lower rating in Britain, and its strong box office is being attributed to the rating, and not the cultural attachment the subject matter may be yielding in the U.K.

"The British numbers are huge because the rating lets families see the movie together," said Weinstein, who is working with the director to make the changes. "Tom and I are trying to find a unique way to do this that keeps his vision of the movie."

The King's Speech has currently earned just under $60 million in the U.S. alone, $10 million more than the movie has earned worldwide, and will soon expand into even more theaters this weekend in its original version. The re-cut version won't be released until after the Oscars ceremony on February 27, at which point the Weinstein Company will have already launched an ad campaign to encourage viewers to "see it with the person who inspired you and changed your life."