Juno(2007)

Juno is a unlike coming of age film. Produced by Jason Reitman, it covers many themes such as adoption and young pregnancies. The film is rated a 12a and targets a primary demographic of 12-18 year olds as the themes presented could directly affect this age group The main character decides to put her baby up for adoption before it is born instead of having an abortion. It is set in Minnesota and the main character, Juno, is only at high school age. This engages this age bracket as the narrative is relate able as well as being a form of escapism. Unlike many other films, the film has a wide age range as many will feel the film is suitable for them as it tackles such important questions and themes such as teen pregnancy and the struggle of putting a baby up for adoption.

Youth is presented in several ways in the film. Firstly, the soundtracks used in the films refer to childhood and growing up. The song used in the opening is called 'all I want is you' by Barry Louis Polisar. As well as connoting youth, it engages the target demographic as they are informed that the narrative will be realistic to them. Furthermore, illustrations/cartoons are used in the title sequence to again promote the idea of youth and even innocence. The title of the film is also written in this style to capture the sight of the target demographic.

The target gender of the film are females for several reasons. Firstly, the topics and themes in the film such as pregnancy are more relevant for a female viewer as it is something that could happen to them. Furthermore, the main character is a female and the film is based around her life and decision. This makes the film more likely to be engaging for a female as the opinions shown are those of the same gender. A male audience may still find the film useful and enjoyable as the father of the child is shown in the film.

The secondary audience of the film is very vast. I have watched the film in religious studies as the themes in the film are relevant to the subject. This shows many students will be shown the film for educational reasons. However, the main secondary audience will be slightly older females from 20 and above who find the character and narrative possibly inspirational

Due to the educational side of the film, higher social classes will also watch the film to be educated. For example classes E, D, C and maybe B are likely to watch the film due to the deep and touching narrative. This shows the film successfully appeals to more than one demographic unlike many Coming of Age films which are limited to an audience of a school age.

When Juno became Fox Searchlight's first film to surpass $100 million at the box office, the company's president Peter Rice issued the statement: "This is an astonishing feat for us and the film has surpassed all our expectations. We knew this film had crossover potential and it has resonated with audiences all across the country."The film has grossed $143,495,265 in the United States and $87,916,319 in other territories for a total worldwide gross of $231,411,584. It was also the highest-grossing of the five Best Picture nominees for the 80th Academy Awards. Distributors even sent hamburger phones to critics who were writing reviews for the film!source-wikipedia