Four-quadrant movie
| 1st quadrant male under 25 |
2nd quadrant female under 25 |
| 3rd quadrant male over 25 |
4th quadrant female over 25 |
In the Hollywood movie industry, a four-quadrant movie is one which appeals to all four major demographic "quadrants" of the moviegoing audience: both male and female, and both over- and under-25s.[1]
Criteria
Films are generally aimed at at least two such quadrants, and most tent-pole films are four-quadrant movies. A film's budget is often correlated to the number of quadrants the film is expected to reach, and movies are rarely produced if not focused on at least two quadrants.[2]
Examples
Although four-quadrant movies are generally family-friendly, this is not a requirement.[3] Titanic, which was the highest grossing film ever following its theatrical run, has been cited as a strong example of a four-quadrant movie that blended action and romance in a historical setting to appeal to all four quadrants.[4] Some other films exhibiting this quality may be comedic (such as Meet the Parents) or horror films, or be crowd-pleasing in nature,[5][6] such as high-profile action films or adaptations of popular novels. Four-quadrant movies often have both adult and child protagonists.[7] They are often built on a "high-concept" premise with well-delineated heroes and villains, with emotion, action and danger present in the story.[8]
See also
References
- ^ Neil Smith (26 October 2011). "Why did The Help clean up at the US box office?". BBC News.
- ^ Friend, Tad (19 January 2009). "The Cobra". The New Yorker. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
- ^ Tomasi, Rollo (30 April 2012). "Film Term of the Week: Four-quadrant Movie". Filmbook. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
- ^ "There may never be a hit like Titanic ever again". The A.V. Club. 2017-08-08. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
- ^ White, Forest F. (27 October 2012). "How to write a four-quadrant story, or using movie marketing logic on a novel". Dreamwidth. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
- ^ "10 Great Quadrant Movies Screenwriters Can Learn From". Industrial Scripts. 28 September 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
- ^ "Stormblog". 16 September 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
- ^ "What Makes a Four-Quadrant Film? 10 Essential Elements". ScreenCraft. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2014.