In the Hollywood movie industry, a four-quadrant movie is one which appeals to all four major demographic "quadrants" of the movie-going audience: both male and female, and both over and under 25 years of age.[1]
Films are generally aimed at at least two such quadrants, and most tent-pole films are four-quadrant movies. A film's budget is often correlated to the number of quadrants the film is expected to reach, and movies are rarely produced if not focused on at least two quadrants.[2]
Examples
Although four-quadrant movies are generally family-friendly, this is not a requirement.[3]Titanic, which was the highest grossing film ever following its theatrical run, has been cited as a strong example of a four-quadrant movie that blended action and romance in a historical setting to appeal to all four quadrants.[4] Some other films exhibiting this quality may be comedic (such as Meet the Parents) or horror films, or be crowd-pleasing in nature,[5][6] such as high-profile action films or adaptations of popular novels. Four-quadrant movies often have both adult and child protagonists.[7] They are often built on a "high-concept" premise with well-delineated heroes and villains, with emotion, action and danger present in the story.[8]
