Josh Starr

Research Tasks

Superhero films

Superhero films have been very successful in

attracting audiences and creating huge profit.

One of the reasons of this is that they appeal

to a very large range of audiences, in both

demographics (eg, gender or ethnicity) and

psychographics (eg, personal interests or

hobbies). The more people the film attracts,

the more money they will make and the more

successful it will be.

The Dark Knight

This film was a huge success at the box office and was released in 24th July 2008 with a lifetime gross of $533,345,358. This film attracted a large range of audiences for a few reasons; one being that ‘Batman’ itself appeals to people of all ages from the cartoon that would attract children to want to see this film and leading into adults who may of watched it as a kid or may have just seen ‘Batman begins’ which would then lead them to want to see what happens next in the saga. Advertising for the film was massive, using TV, internet and posters on buses etc Due to it being made by Warner Brothers the budget was huge meaning a lot of money could be spent in advertising.

Spiderman

Spiderman was also a massive hit at the box office released 2002 with a lifetime gross of $403,706,375, once again this film attracted a large range of audiences due to it being suitable for all age ranges and ticks the boxes for many things people like in a film including action, romance and a superhero character people like. Also released by a large company Sony pictures entertainment so there budget was very large meaning the marketing was huge drawing people into the film for its release.

Iron Man

Iron man is the 5th best selling superhero film ever made with a total gross of $318,412,101 made by paramount studios, a very large company capable of a very large budget meaning the film already had a head start to become successful. Once again the film uses action and romance to attract the audience; what seems to be one of the key elements in the genre. The film would be aimed at people who like to watch fighting and also at people who like futuristic technology, so this is largely aimed at males but hits its target audience very well; this is shown in its success.

The Inredibles This film was released in 2004 and

had a gross of $261,441,092; this film had a slightly different target audience and was aimed at younger people, perhaps under the age of 16; this was shown because it was a cartoon film, showing Disney Pixars famous strong point in creating amazing cartoon films. The film had action but not too much so that it wasn’t suitable for all ages and also contained male and female superhero characters and was a family environment making it more appropriate for the whole family to watch. Something some other big hit superhero films did not do.

Thor

Thor is a 2011 American superhero film based on the comic book character of the same name published by Marvel Comics. Its gross was $181,030,624, not as large as the other films here but still enough to put it 15th on the most successful superhero films. This film was quite successful at attracting an audience due to it already being a comic that is well known around the world therefore people would hear about the film and already want to see it without even watching the trailer. The film uses a male main character but also uses female characters so that both male and females cold be attracted to the film.

Up and coming films..

The amazing Spiderman- This film could be a big hot at the box office for a few reasons, it is another film based on the comic book character that is very popular with a large range of audiences and is also being made by Sony, a very large industry meaning the budget will be very large.

The dark Knight rises- This being the third in the trilogy of the batman films it is expected to be an incredible film following two big hit films therefore this already increases its popularity. This film is high action and also can be very emotional film making it very intense and enjoyable attracted a very large range of audiences.

The Importance of Star directors

and actors. A film can be judged before release by the actors and the director, such as if the cast is all well known Hollywood actors and it is directed by a director who has made very successful films in the past the audience will immediately presume that the film will be a big hit at the box office and will be a very good film. Such as Dark Knight Rises that will be released in a few months time, having Christopher Nolan as the director creates a huge impact on the film making it more desirable. This film also contains stars such as Morgan Freeman Christian Bale and of course Michael Caine once again making it very desirable.

Group Discussion-

In our discussion we found that people liked- Majority of people i spoke to agreed that they liked the action parts of

superhero films.

Many of the people thought that the costumes used are cool and make a superhero film a superhero film.

Some people i asked said they liked that most superhero films contain a dilemma which is usually when the main character has to try and save someone he cares about.

Also some liked that love is commonly used in these films in the modern industry and the film can create emotion as well as just fighting.

What they didn’t like-

Most people I asked agreed that superhero films can be very repetitive and that some new ideas needed adding so that they aren’t so repetitive.

A few people said that the costumes in them can be a bit cheesy and unrealistic so this puts them off a film.

Also some people disliked some of the powers they have, making it too unrealistic and not enjoyable to watch.