This document summarizes research on the thriller genre film market in 2012 and 2013. It includes: the number of thriller films released and their total box office gross each year; the top 3 most successful thriller films of 2012 and 2013; the market share of the thriller genre compared to other genres; and characteristics of the thriller audience such as their average age (15-24), social class (C2), and gender (mostly male).

2. Introduction
The purpose of this research task is to gather
information on the thriller genre and to gain an
exceptional knowledge of how much of the film
industry the thriller genre has shares of. In this
presentation I will include:
1) How many thriller films were released in this
period
2) How profitable the genre is
3) Which films were most successful (and why)
4)What are the characteristics of the audience for
this genre (age, gender, social class)

3. Market share statistics 2012
As ‘thriller’ is in the top 5 most successful genres I know that the public like
this genre and are willing to spend money in order to see the newest thriller
film. This research has allowed me to feel more confident with the
production of my own thriller film coming up as I now know that thriller
films are appreciated and will be well received by my target audience. From
this chart I can also infer that this genre is very profitable as the gross for
the year 2012 was $1,521,690,602.
http://www.the-numbers.com/market/2012/summary

4. Most successful films of 2012
The chart on the left shows the 46
most successful titles of the year
(out of 52). I can learn that the
top 3 most successful thrillers of
2012 were ‘The Hunger Games’,
‘Taken 2’ and ‘Safe House’. I
believe that The Hunger Games
was the most successful as the
film was a PG which allowed a
wide audience of people to watch
it. Additionally it may have been
successful as it would have
appealed to both adults and
children through the
advertisement of content in the
trailers. The Hunger Games raised
$408,010,692 which was nearly
$300,000,000 more than Taken 2
did in 2nd place.

5. Market share of each genre- 2013
In 2013 thriller/suspense was recorded as the 5th most popular genre of film holding
11.94% of the market; this tells me that the popularity of the genre has neither risen
or declined. However I can see that the positions of 1st, 2nd and 4th have changed
dramatically, for example in 2012 adventure held the highest market share whereas
in 2013 action had taken its place putting adventure in 3rd position. Additionally we
can tell that drama’s market share decreased in 2013 as it slipped from 3rd to 4th. I can
infer from the two market share charts that comedy has stayed equally as popular as
it has remained in 2nd place. The profitability of this genre decreased from being
$1,521,690,602 in 2012 to being $1,021,223,072 in 2013. This gives me the
impression that less people are spending money on thriller films.
http://www.the-numbers.com/market/2013/summary

6. Most successful thriller films of 2013
This is the list of the top 46
thriller films that have been
released in 2013. For example I
can see that the most successful
thriller film was ‘Gravity’
producing a massive gross of
$174,919,886. In total 64 thriller
films will have been released this
year with 3 of the 64 still to come.
I believe that more thriller films
were made in 2013 due to the
hope that the thriller genre may
expand and therefore grow their
market shares resulting in more
profit for the institutions.
http://www.thenumbers.com/market/2013/genre/T
hriller-or-Suspense

7. Characteristics of the target audience- age
From my research I would suggest that the majority of people that
watch thriller films are aged between 15 and 24. For example 54% of
Taken 2 viewers were aged between 15-24, The Hunger Games = 47%,
The Dark Knight Rises = 43% and The Woman In black = 42%.
http://www.bfi.org.uk/statisticalyearbook2013

8. Characteristics of the target audiencesocial classes
Additionally I noticed that the social class who prefer thrillers is
demographic group C2, I think this is because going to the cinema
or buying the DVD is classed as a luxury and is socially acceptable.
The language used within thrillers may also appeal to the C2
audience as they will understand the dialogue used and therefore
may be able to relate to the characters which is subsequently an
audience pleasure.
http://www.bfi.org.uk/statisticalyearbook2013

9. Characteristics of the target audiencegender
Lastly statistics show that the majority of the thriller audience are
male. For instance 55% of all viewers for Skyfall were men, and 64%
for The Dark Knight Rises. However Woman In Black only had 44%
being men and 56% being women.
http://www.bfi.org.uk/statisticalyearbook2013