Research: Target Audience

"Target audience" refers to the groups of people who have similar interests and therefore are all likely to enjoy the same type of media.

Different films are targeted at different audiences, and it is important for film companies to get their target audiences correct because different viewers will perceive and interpret the same film differently. A target audience can be determined by several deciding factors, such as gender, age, interests, IQ level, or sometimes a mixture of these. Thriller films cover a lot of sub-genres and so there is no simple target audience that applies to all of these. However, having said this, thrillers on the whole are targeted at older teenagers/adults because of their mature and sometimes disturbing themes which may be upsetting for younger viewers. To generalise, I would start off by suggesting that thriller films are suitable for people, of both genders, from ages 15-35. I am now going to research how this may change depending upon the sub-genre of the film.

SUPERNATURAL THRILLERS

Supernatural thrillers, such as THE SIXTH SENSE, are aimed at younger adults as opposed to older ones mostly because they do not require a huge amount of thought and often rely on frightening the audience with jumpy scenes. They also are more suitable to younger audiences because they are not as horrific/gorey as horror films, and so can be used as a substitute for younger people (teenagers).
Overall I would say that supernatural thrillers are targeted at 15-25 year olds with an interest in jumpy but not horrific films. They probably also appeal to females more than males because males are, stereotypically, more likely to want to watch a more shocking and violent film.


 PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLERS

BLACK SWAN is a classic example of the types of people who go to see psychological thrillers; young adults, mostly female. Psychological thrillers appeal to women because they contain disturbing and freaky images but they are not loaded with blood and gore, and so they find the perfect balance. They are aimed at people who are more interested in the mental state of characters rather than the cheesy jumpy scenes - such as you may find in supernatural thrillers - and for this reason probably appeal to those with a bit more intelligence. Overall I would give psychological thrillers an audience of 15-25 year olds, mostly female.



 ACTION/CRIME THRILLERS

 
Crime thrillers, such as PULP FICTION, are thriller films which are completely different to the already-analysed psychological and supernatural films; they contain more violence, and are targeted specifically at men. They are probably also aimed more at the older adults rather than teenagers, because of their mature content (often involving drug use, sexually explicit content and severe criminal activity).
Overall I would suggest that crime thrillers appeal to 18-30 year old males.