Audience Research of

Horror movies

The fans who go to the cinema to see horror films are aged under 25 on average. This may be because they are looking for a thrill or want to face their fears in a fictional world. They may also want to see supernatural occurrences happen in everyday life, for example what would happen in the case of a zombie apocalypse. Also, horror films allow the audience to interact with the world of the film by asking ‘what if ’ throughout the film in a safe environment, giving a sense of mystery throughout.

These fans want to

deliberately feel uneasy

about what is being

screened, created by

showing gore, torture or

visions from nightmares.

Because of this, a ‘thrill

factor’ is created, meaning

that the audience desires to

see horror movies, resulting

in positive feedback in the

genre. Sometimes negative

feedback is given to modern

remakes of classic horror

films such as Texas

Chainsaw Massacre.

Horror films are spread

mainly through the theme

of fear, created by the sense

of mystery and that there is

an element of the unknown

present. They often create

fears that we didn’t know we

had, such as death or the

unknown, but also fears in

everyday reality such as

pandemics and natural

disasters. By creating this

atmosphere, it allows the

audience to try and avoid

these themes in the future.

Movies Total Gross Average Gross Market Share

Comedy $44,792,158,044 $25,580,901 23.48%

Adventure $38,199,674,469 $73,319,913 20.03%

Drama $33,621,012,632 $10,734,678 17.63%

Action $32,066,637,809 $56,257,259 16.81%

Thriller/Suspense $15,495,734,985 $27,621,631 8.12%

Romantic Come $11,286,883,357 $28,007,155 5.92%

Horror $9,093,205,812 $27,638,923 4.77%

Documentary $2,063,950,710 $1,918,170 1.08%

Musical $1,865,013,970 $16,504,548 0.98%

Black Comedy $781,440,299 $9,193,415 0.41%

Western $685,432,870 $19,039,802 0.36%

Concert/Performance $293,960,413 $7,169,766 0.15%

Multiple Genres $8,280,303 $414,015 0.00%

Genre Unknown $1,685,983 $337,197 0.00%

This graph shows that horror movies tend to increase and decrease regularly. There is no

major reason for this other than the films that are released in a certain year. For instance, lots

of horror movies may be released one year, then the next year, very few may be released.