Hollywood May Finally Be Catching On

According to this article in the New York Times, "in the last few months an older audience has made a startling reassertion of its multiplex power. “True Grit,” “The King’s Speech,” “The Fighter,” “Black Swan” — all movies in contention for a clutch of Oscars on Sunday — have all been surprise hits at the box office.
And they have all been powered by people for whom 3-D means wearing glasses over glasses, and “Twilight” sounds vaguely threatening.
Hollywood, slower than almost any other industry to market to baby boomers, may be getting a glimpse of its graying future. While the percentage of moviegoers in the older population remains relatively small, the actual number of older moviegoers is growing explosively — up 67 percent since 1995, according to GfK MRI, a media research firm. "

I admit to being a very occasional moviegoer. But there are some movies that have gotten me into the theatre on “release” weekend. I first realized that the movie industry was letting a potential market go unrecognized when Tea With Mussolini came out in 1999. I was in my early fifties and had to work on Saturday, but finished early and found a 2 pm show in a theatre not far away. I was shocked that when, at 1:45, there was hardly a seat left and I was definitely the youngest person in the room. Same thing happened with The Bucket List.

The Times article goes on to say: "Just last weekend, “Unknown,” with a 58-year-old Liam Neeson as its action star, was No. 1 at the box office, beating a heavily promoted teenage science fiction movie. More than half of the audience was over 50.
Almost every studio has a movie aimed at an older audience on its current schedule or in development, whether it’s “Dirty Old Men” at Warner Brothers or “Larry Crowne” at Universal Pictures. Fox Searchlight has high hopes for “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” about a group a British retirees who go to India. It stars Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, who are both 76."

As one of the “first wave of the baby boomers,” I turn 65 this year. I hope we can look forward to an increasing number of movies based on story and character rather than on special effects and loud noise.

Terrie