Reading through my RSS feed of Indiewire, I came across this article about the marketability to different age groups. The article isn’t all that suprising, everyone already knows that most movie studio executives are very cut and dry about the movies they pick up and how to market them. A particular line of it provides a general synopsis of the value in the playbook: No one sets out to make a movie without a particular audience in mind. One line of the playbook rings suprisingly true in a time of social media cravings and short attention spans: films no longer have time to find their audience; that audience has to be captured well in advance.
The article details the marketing drive that has a huge impact on the content of the film. It mentions why few films are made for certain age groups. Seeing the article’s title, most would brush it off as insignificant but it has some suprising statements.
Recent examples of that go off this guide could include the January openings of this year. The Kevin Hart/Ice Cube comedy Ride Along, with it’s humor filled action scenes and witty dialogue, went on to make $41 million in it’s opening weekend against a budget of $25 million. The film targeted the 18-30 demographic looking for a mindless comedy to gravitate to. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit failed in attracting much of the younger demographic but got a suprising turnout with viewers over age 50. Jack Ryan had what many older viewers liked: action, classic genres and men being adventurous. Ride Along targeted much of the younger generation with it’s mindless humor and comedic tone.
Movies are more manufactured than most outside the industry imagine. It’s time to take a closer look.
