It’s no surprise to movie studios that the way a movie is produced and marketed can significantly impact the type of people who show up at the theaters to watch it. We thought it would be interesting to look at the piles of data we have about movie genre preference to see if we could learn anything new. We started by examining one of our longest-standing tracking questions: “Which of these is your favorite movie genre,” with the choices being action, comedy, drama, and horror. Out of the four genres, we found comedy to be the favorite; one out of three people chose comedy over action, drama, or horror. The second favorite is action and the third drama, making horror the least favored; although, those most likely to go to the movies once a month or more are the horror fans. There must be something about the big screen and surround sound that adds an impact to being frightened.
Those Who Favor…
Now, let’s look at the types of people who chose the different genres.
ACTION
Our data shows that action is the second favorite movie genre and is the most popular genre among the 45 to 54 age group. Married people, African Americans, and smartphone users are more likely to prefer action films than others. They generally live in a rural community and drive a truck. Men are two times more likely than women to choose action as their favorite movie genre. They also like the action of sports, especially football. Unlike their love for action in movies and sports, quite contrary is their favorite type of TV show- dramas.
COMEDY
The comedy movie goers are also likely to be in the 45 to 54 age group. Unlike those who favor action, they tend to be female, white, and single. They commonly live in a suburban community and are Verizon wireless subscriber. Along with movies, their favorite type of TV show is also comedy. They watch ABC and NBC most often, probably watching shows like Modern Family, Parks and Recreation, and Saturday Night Live. Surprisingly, out of the four genres, those who have the most trouble falling asleep every night, or almost every night, are those who chose comedy as their favorite movie genre. Maybe they’re staying up too late watching late night talk shows or reruns of Seinfeld.
DRAMA
With no surprise, women were two times more likely than men to choose drama as their favorite movie genre. Those who chose drama are likely to be white, drive a sedan, and live in an urban community. Since drama is also their favorite type of TV show and they watch ABC, CBS, and NBC most often, they probably enjoy Desperate Housewives, NCIS, and Chicago Fire. Also, those with an advanced education are more prone to answer drama as their favorite movie genre and describe their own personal finances as good. This may be because they are generally in the 65 and older age group or because when they are not watching dramas they are reading their E-Reader.
HORROR
Finally, there are those who chose horror as their favorite movie genre. They are likely to be female, African American or Hispanic, and single. These horror fanatics are generally in the 35 to 44 age group, live in an urban community, and are T-Mobile, MetroPCS, Boost Mobile, and Cricket Wireless subscribers. They likely have a low income and describe their own personal finances as bad; this may be because they tend to have a high school education or less. They never watch sports TV, never exercise, and never shop on the Internet. Along with watching horror movies they also enjoy watching documentary TV shows.
TO SUM IT UP
As most would probably guess, comedy is the favorite movie genre and horror is the least. All age groups under 54 chose comedy as their favorite movie genre, and the 55 to 64 age group had a tie between comedy and action. But surprisingly, those who chose comedy as their favorite have the hardest time falling asleep. Even though horror is the least favored, those who chose this genre go to the movies the most. Also those who go to the movies the most tend to be under 18. Another stereotypical discovery we found is that men are twice as likely to choose action and women are twice as likely to choose drama as their favorite movie genre. BUT don’t let that fool you; men who chose action as their favorite movie genre will watch a drama if it is in the form of a TV show. So even if you fit the typical movie genre category, you still have unusual quirks like the rest of us.
Check out our latest report, Counting Counts: Quantifying LGBTQ Experiences & Sentiment (Part I)
