Men generally preferred action films like Terminator Salvation and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, comedies like Brüno and Lesbian Vampire Killers, and science fiction films like Avatar and Star Trek. Women had a greater preference for comedy like Marley & Me, romance/fantasy films such as The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and animated films like A Christmas Carol. The data shows that many top films in 2009 attracted significantly more male or female audiences.

1. 14.2 Film preferences by gender
Although the overall cinema audience in 2009 was split almost evenly between men and women, some films attracted substantially
more of one gender than the other (Table 14.3). Men preferred action (Terminator Salvation, X-Men Origins: Wolverine), comedy
(Brüno, Lesbian Vampire Killers), and science fiction (Avatar, Star Trek). Comedy (Marley & Me), romance/fantasy (The Twilight
Saga: New Moon) and animation (A Christmas Carol) figured highly in the list of films with large female audience shares (Table 14.3).
Table 14.3 Audience gender split of top performing films released in the UK and Republic of
Ireland, 2009 Top 20 films and top UK films
Greater female audience share Male % Female %
Marley & Me 22 78
The Twilight Saga: New Moon 34 66
A Christmas Carol 39 61
Greater male audience share Male % Female %
Terminator Salvation 72 28
Brüno 67 33
Planet 51 (UK) 67 33
Lesbian Vampire Killers (UK) 67 33
X-Men Origins: Wolverine 66 34
Avatar 65 35
The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus (UK) 64 36
Star Trek 62 38
Gender difference not statistically significant Male % Female %
Dorian Gray (UK) 51 49
Slumdog Millionaire (UK) 50 50
G-Force 49 51
Angels and Demons 49 51
Alvin and the Chipmunks 2: The Squeakquel 48 52
Bolt 48 52
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (UK) 48 52
Up 48 52
Source: CAA Film Monitor.
Note: Audience demographic data were available for 17 of the top 20 UK films released in 2009.