TARGET AUDIENCE: The thriller genre

The Thriller Genre


In 2007 the cinema and box office admissions saw an increase in the number of films that were viewed within the UK. Cinema admissions increased by 4% whilst the box office share of UK films went from 19% in 2006 to 29% in 2007.However, even though most media attention is mainly focused towards film it is not always necessarily viewed by audiences at the cinema. Within the UK in 2007 the the number of people was recorded who opted to watch films on the television as opposed to at the cinema. The total figure for the audiences who watched films on television was 3.1 billion, which was 19 times larger than an audience who preferred to watch films at the cinema.According to the UK Film Council's statistics, young people nearly half under the age of 25 mainly watched films at the cinema. However, in recent years there has been a substantial increase in the older audience such as people aged 45 and over which accounts for 19% of cinema visits.
The UK Film Council has recorded thw top 20 films released within the UK in 2007. Films of the thriller genre that appeared within this list were I Am Legend, The Bourne Ultimatum, Die Hard 4.0 and Ocean's Thirteen. I Am Legend was shown in 440 cinemas, the box office gross (£ million) was 25.52 and the opening weekend gross (£ million) was 11.01.The Bourne Ultimatum was shown in 458 cinemas, the box office gross (£ million) was 23.72 and the opening weekend gross (£ million) was 6.55.Die Hard 4.0 was shown in 458 cinemas, the box office gross (£ million) was 13.89 and the opening weekend gross (£ million) was 5.00.Ocean's Thirteen was shown in 475 cinemas, the box office gross (£ million) was 13.15 and the opening weekend gross (£ million) was 3.02.The Bourne Ultimatum made it to number 1 in the weekend box office charts on 17th August 2007, where it stayed for 3 weeks. The weekend gross (£ million) was 6.6.
In the UK in 2007, there were 28 (5.4%) films released of the thriller genre. The gross box office (£ million) was 67.6 (7.2%). The top performing title was The Bourne Ultimatum.However, audiences favourite genre was comedy with 127 (24.6) released films in 2007, and the gross box office (£ million) was 206.6 (22.1%). The top performing title was Mr Bean's Holiday. Horror was the 10th most favourite genre with 24 film releases in 2007, and romance was the 14th most favourite genre with 21 releases. Top performing titles from these genres was Saw 4 and P.S I Love You.
BBFC classifications are there to give audiences a general idea of what the film will contain and what type of audience will be suitable to view it. U (Universal) classifications are suitable for for all to watch, PG (Parental Guidance) is suitable for general viewing but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children, 12A is suitable for no one younger than 12 years of age and this age groups cannot see a 12A in a cinema without being accompanied by an adult, 15 is suitable for no one younger than 15 years of age and 18 is suitable for no one younger than 18 years of age.In 2007, one film from the thriller genre was given the 12A classification. This film was The Bourne Ultimatum, whereas all of the other films with this classification fell under the genre of comedy, romance and action.Films with a classification of 15 were mainly from the genres comedy, action, sci-fi and drama. Two films from the thriller genre were given a 15 classification in 2007, these films being Blood Diamond and The Last King of Scotland.Films with a classification of 18 were mainly from the genres crime, horror, thriller and action. Examples of these films in 2007 were American Gangster, Hannibal Rising, Eastern Promises, Outlaw and Apocalypto.
The UK Film Council has recored the top 10 institutions/distributors in the UK in 2007. The number one institution being Warner Brothers with 15.6% market share, box office gross (£ million) 141.5 and 32 released films in 2007 including there biggest hits Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I Am Legend, 300 and Ocean's Thirteen.Paramount was the second best institution with 14.7% market share, a box office gross (£ million) of 133.7 and 31 released films in 2007 including Shrek the Third, Transformers and Stardust.20th Century Fox was the third most rated institution with 13.9% market share, box office gross (£ million) 126.3 and 27 released films in 2007 including The Simpsons, Die Hard 4.0 and Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer.
http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/media/pdf/1/p/2008.pdf