In the
Hollywood movie industry, a four-quadrant movie is one which appeals to all four major
demographic
Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings.
Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as ed ...
"quadrants" of the moviegoing audience: both male and female, and both over- and under-25s.
Criteria
Films are generally aimed at at least two such quadrants, and most
tent-pole films are four-quadrant movies. A film's budget is often correlated to the number of quadrants the film is expected to reach, and movies are rarely produced if not focused on at least two quadrants.
Examples
Although four-quadrant movies are generally
family-friendly
A family-friendly product or service is one that is considered to be suitable for all members of an average family. Family-friendly restaurants are ones that provide service to families that have young children. Frequently, family-friendly produc ...
, this is not a requirement.
''Titanic'', which was the highest grossing film ever following its theatrical run, has been cited as a strong example of a four-quadrant movie that blended action and romance in a historical setting to appeal to all four quadrants. Some other films exhibiting this quality may be comedic (such as ''
Meet the Parents
''Meet the Parents'' is a 2000 American comedy film written by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg and directed by Jay Roach. It chronicles a series of unfortunate events that befall a good-hearted but hapless nurse ( Ben Stiller as Greg Focker) while ...
'') or horror films, or be crowd-pleasing in nature, such as high-profile action films or adaptations of popular novels. Four-quadrant movies often have both adult and child protagonists. They are often built on a "
high-concept" premise with well-delineated heroes and villains, with emotion, action and danger present in the story.
See also
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Blockbuster (entertainment)
A blockbuster is a work of entertainment—typically used to describe a feature film produced by a major film studio, but also other media—that is highly popular and financially successful. The term has also come to refer to any large-budget pr ...
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Event movie An event film or event movie is a blockbuster film whose release itself is considered a major event.
Criteria
It could be a highly anticipated sequel or a big budget film with state-of-the-art special effects or major stars generating considerab ...
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Family movie
A children's film, or family film, is a film genre that contains children or relates to them in the context of home and family. Children's films are made specifically for children and not necessarily for a general audience, while family films are ...
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List of highest-grossing films
Films generate income from several revenue streams, including theatrical exhibition, home video, television broadcast rights, and merchandising. However, theatrical box-office earnings are the primary metric for trade publications in as ...
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Tent-pole film
References
{{reflist
Film and video terminology
Film industry