AS Media Studies

Audience Research Exercise

Primary Research One

I asked a group of 5 students questions regarding their interest in Superhero films. My focus group consisted of males and females around the ages of 16-17, all with different feelings about the genre; resulting in a culmination of different answers.

Focus Group

What do people expect to see in a Superhero film?

In a Superhero film, people expect to see action, fighting and extraordinary events that are highly unrealistic. Romance is also expected, along with explosions and a protagonist who possesses unnatural powers and abilities. People want to be entertained and expect an unpredictable storyline, along with evil Villains who wear fancy costumes.

What do people like about Superhero films?

The main thing that people like about superhero films is the fact that for an hour or two they can escape their ordinary, normal lives and watch a human who is just like themselves partake in amazing battles. Superhero films allow the viewers to become immersed in the drama, see attractive actors and actresses, and visit places that they would want to visit- such as New York City- from the comfort of their own homes.

What about dislike about Superhero films?

Superhero films often give the consumer a glimpse of a life they will never be able to lead, and this is frustrating for viewers. Realism is hardly ever an aspect of films in the Superhero genre, which can be a positive but also a negative. Furthermore, Superhero films are also rather cheesy, due to the fact the main protagonist and his love interest always get together. A lack of humour and predictable plot lines are also reasons why people may dislike superhero films.

Focus Group discussing answers

Primary Research 2

• Two people in my Focus Group specifically liked the way the film Kick-Ass changed the conventions of Superhero films.

• They found it refreshing having a main protagonist who did not have any special powers and a young girl who fought the Villains by herself.

• However, they didn’t like the character in Iron Man, finding him conceited and hard to relate to.

Secondary Research

1. Looking through the top fifteen films on Box Office Mojo, the Spider-Man franchise appears thrice, suggesting that Sony hit a winning streak with the tale of Peter Parker, a schoolboy who gets powers from a special spider. The target audience for the Spider-Man films are teenagers and young adults, due to the PG-13 rating in America and themes of love, family problems and being at high school. Distributed by Columbia pictures, one of the leading film companies in the world, Spiderman had the necessary marketing to push it into global success.

Iron Man stands at number five in the table, and it is clear to see why. With massive star appeal in the form of Robert Downey Jr, Iron Man promised action, romance and excitement in it’s trailer. Paramount, who produced the film, have also been the name behind massive blockbusters such as Mission Impossible and saving Private Ryan- with such a big producer, there is a lot of expectation for the film to succeed. The Incredibles is different to the previous films in the list, as the target audience for this film is mainly younger children aged 5-13. It is actually the only children's film in the Top 15, suggesting that there was a substantial lack of children’s Superhero films to come out- leaving families flocking to the cinemas to see something new.

2. I believe that the main demographic for ‘The Amazing Spider Man’ will be people who are fans of the original film- so a mixture of men and women in their 20’s to early 40’s. However, by bringing the films to the attention of a new generation this will bring a new bout of teenagers who were not old enough to see the first three in cinemas, so who will want to see this new instalment. The psychographic factors include that ‘Mainstreamers’ may be persuaded by their friends, or they may be attracted to the big name stars attached to the film- in this case Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield.

Another film in the Upcoming Releases column on Box Office Mojo is ‘The Dark Knight Rises’- the sequel to the extremely successful ‘The Dark Knight’. The aforementioned film is number one on the website’s list of most popular Superhero films, telling us that there is an increasing level of pressure on Warner Brothers to produce the same high quality of film to the public. The psychographic factors of going to see ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ include that succeeders who enjoyed ‘The Dark Knight’ may go to watch the film anyway, despite any bad reviews. The main demographic for this film is young people aged 15, to adults aged 50, all who have an interest in superhero films of a darker nature.

Secondary Research continued

1. The reasons why the article on comingsoon.net believes that ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, ‘The Avengers’ and ‘The Amazing Spider Man’ will be successful in finding audiences are that The Dark Knight Rises has a huge advantage being the sequel to a $533 million grossing movie. Other reasons include that The Avengers has been the culmination of years of planning, combining six well-loved characters from previous summer blockbusters. Although the article believes that The Amazing Spider Man is this summers ‘weakest link’, Sony’s first Spider Man movie set the bar for all the $100 million plus opening Superhero movies that have come since- indicating that there is obviously public interest in the Superhero franchise.

Sony have also undergone a big global event to spread the word about The Amazing Spiderman, doing a big Viral campaign that is similar to what Warner Bros used for The Dark Knight. Furthermore, The Amazing Spider Man is opening the day before 4th July- Independence Day- in America, and is hoping to get a bump from the holiday and word-of-mouth. The article closes saying that The Amazing Spider Man will be able to maintain a few good weeks, until The Dark Knight Rises opens on July 20th, which is likely to “destroy it’s legs”. I think the reason writer believes the latter will do so well is because by working for a site like ‘Superhero hype’, they have access to readers who watch these films, and can predict through polls and message boards which film is going to be the most popular at the box office.

2. Star Actors and Star Directors are incredibly important in helping superhero films to be successful. Many superhero films have derived from comics, and viewers have a very specific view on how the characters should look and behave. It is imperative that actors are chosen who can cope with the usually physically demanding role of a Superhero character, whilst looking good to bring ‘Star Appeal’ to the film. By hiring an actor or actress who appeals to audiences and therefore attracts moviegoers is one of the most important aspects of filmmaking, as this increases profits.