Which audience age category is most attractive to today’s moviemakers? Why?

The Media/Impact textbook states that the ideal audience is made up of adults over 30 and children.  This relates back to money.  An audience of those over 30 and/or children equates to ticket sales.  The ticket sales means the studios will generate a nice profit before the ancillary rights.

Children almost always have an adult or two with them at the theater.  A movie aimed at them will bring in adults too.  A child is a great advertising and promotion tool.  They are very likely to bring up wanting to see a movie multiple times to the parents.  This is why several of the big blockbuster movies are cartoons.

Adults utilize movies for entertainment, first dates, and for brain stimulation.  The group of adults over 30 years of is also likely to be the group willing to spend more money from their budget on entertainment.  This is why so many movies are rated R, it’s aimed at the older audience.

This doesn’t mean that all movies are aimed at kids or adults over 30.  Some hits, Grumpy Old Men for example, are aimed at an older audience.  It’s just not as common. 

Lots of money is spent in producing and advertising movies.  To recoup these expenses, films must be aimed at the biggest audience possible.