FILM DISTRIBUTORS

Genre Analysis

• As of 2014, Horror is the sixth most financially successful genre, with a 4.48% market share. 608 examples have been produced since 1995, accumulating total box office sales of $10,654,579,332. This is considerably lower than the comedy genre, which grosses around five times more, as horror films typically have a much lower budget.

• Because the story is primarily what sells the film the actors do not have to be very well known, resulting in less market shares overall. This means horror films tend to get a platform release, gradually opening in more theaters as word of mouth spreads and the marketing campaign gains momentum.

• Another reason horror films don’t gross as much as comedy and adventure is because of a higher proportion of families purchasing tickets. As they offer lighter entertainment they are more suitable for children to see, and this is reflected in the fact that PG-13 films are by far the most popular, outselling R rated films by 71%.

Average Profit

• Horror Films gross an average of $19,484,409, six times their typical budget. This results in an average profit of $16,237,007.

• Although the average gross for comedy films is roughly the same, much more examples have been produced from 1995 to the present day, accumulating total box office sales almost five times greater than the horror genre. However, action is the most successful genre as a measure of average gross, raking in $62,222,118.

Audience Figures

• Horror films are most likely to be watched by males aged between 18 and 24. This is because the majority of people who attend the cinema are in this age bracket and males tend to prefer thrill and action within a film whereas females typically prefer lighter entertainment such as comedy and romance.

• To ensure that our film is a success it is vital that, as well as being frightfully shocking, it is also entertaining and exiting. This is because it is the thrill factor that appeals to the majority of people who watch horror films. Action films seek to thrill the audience continuously, explaining why, on average, they are the highest grossing films.  

Distributers

• One of the main distributers of horror films is Universal Studios. A horror film they released recently was Mama, which turned out a profit of $131,428,180. It received generally favorable reviews, with one critic saying “Movies like Mama are thrill rides. We go to be scared and then laugh, scared and then laugh, scared and then shocked.” This suggests that it is important to includes elements of humor in horror films to lighten the mode, and is reiterated by the fact that comedy is by far the most popular genre, out-grossing the second most popular genre, adventure, by $11,952,859 from 1995 to the present day.

Summary

• From the data I have collected I think the most appropriate MPAA rating for our horror film would be R. This is because, although the average gross is considerable lower than PG-13, it is nevertheless the second highest grossing, enjoying a 27% market share. In addition, an R rating reflects both the thrill factor associated with the genre and the age bracket of the majority of cinema goers, ensuring that our film is enjoyable for a horror audience.

• If our film was to be released a suitable company to distribute it would be Universal Studios as they are one of the most financially successful distributers of the genre (in 1975 they released Jaws, the highest grossing film in the world at the time). We would hope to recoup a similar profit to the average in the genre, around $19,500,000.