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Studios looks to form relationships with new audiences
Filmgoers watch a screening of Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Endgame" at a cinema in Caracas in April 2019.
(
Federico Parra
/
AFP via Getty Images
)
Topline:
Hollywood needs to appeal to demographic groups it’s underappreciated if it wants to forge new connections and develop sustainable, long-term bonds with audiences eager to be entertained by the industry.
Why it matters: Although sequels, spin-offs, remakes, reboots and “re-imaginings” have produced this summer’s box office hits and staved off disaster for the time being, it’s not a sustainable approach for Hollywood. Instead, the industry needs to consider how to reach the groups that exist beyond its traditional targeting. Three groups it needs to invest in: Bicultural Latinos, Heartland Americans, and cross-generational viewers.
Bicultural Latinos: Hollywood still regards American Latinos as foreigners who speak Spanish. But they’re one of the fastest-growing, most vibrant, and economically powerful populations in the nation. When it comes to economic power, they have the receipts to prove it, and many of Hollywood’s biggest releases are attended by a disproportionate number of Latinos. How can Hollywood reach them better? It needs to focus on universal storytelling, look beyond language, not believe in income bias and showcase the younger generation.
America’s Heartland: Twisters’ strong showing at the box office last weekend proved it: what many coastal elites deem “flyover country” is a strong presence. But those same coastal elites need to be the ones appealing to the heartland. In order to do so, Hollywood needs to shield politics from their projects, make it feel prestige, utilize country music, embrace religion and set stories in surprising locales such as Oklahoma.
For more . . . read the full stories at The Ankler. You can find the piece on bicultural Latinos here and the one on heartland here. [Part three on cross-generational viewers will publish at The Ankler on Thursday.]
This story is published in partnership with The Ankler, a paid subscription publication about the entertainment industry.
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