How have the audiences been constructed for these films?

In this task I have been asked to choose three recently released films and answer a set of questions about them.
The films I will be looking at are Hitchcock, Les Miserables and Monsters University.

Hitchcock

This film features two Academy Award winning lead actors, Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren.
It is a biographic tale of the creation of hit Psycho, showing his determination to create the film despite the lack of support from many people around him.

Age- I think that the film would appeal to many people, but predominantly to an older audience, mainly for the fact that a 15-24 year old audience is unlikely to know who Alfred Hitchcock is to the extent of wanting to watch a film about him.
The style of the film poster is effective in attracting this older audience, as it is more like a traditional film poster. Viewers of the film Psycho will know that the font used on the film's title on the poster is the same one used with Psycho. The slanting nature of the title and reel showing other film characters is not exactly old fashioned, but looks to be stylised like a bygone era, as most film posters now are much simpler and reveal incredibly little, and certainly do not show the faces of supporting actors and actresses.
As mentioned in a previous blog post, older audience members tend to enjoy films with historical value more than a younger audience, and this certainly has that aspect involved.
There is possibility that this film will have much of an audience with younger people, since some of the actresses such as Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Biel are popular in films watched by a younger age range. The trailer for the film is interesting, however and it is likely to entice some younger audience members. There is a "must see" element here, with older audiences wanting to go to see favourites such as Helen Mirren and Anthony Hopkins, and younger audiences wanting to see Scarlett Johansson.

Gender - This film has three main points, as far as the trailer reveals - the production of the film, the relationship between Alfred and his wife, Alma, and Alma's budding relationship with a writer.

These aspects suggest that the film has no set gender in mind; it is a biographical account of the life of a famous director and his wife. The production of Psycho and the humorous side of the film, as implied by the trailer, are likely to appeal to the male audience, with Alma's evident frustrations with her husband and temptations by another man is likely to to appeal to the female audience, although these can be enjoyed side by side and hence the film should appeal to both a male and female audience.
Films such as Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy also have this same historic value and the gender division of the audience there was relatively equal.

NRS Social Grade - The NRS Social Grades are A,B,C1, C2, D and E. AB are the highest social grades, and DE are the lowest.
Judging from the BFI Statistical Yearbook of 2012, certain films have certain audiences in terms of social grade. The higher social grades tend to value more historic films, or those with roots in literature and art. In conjunction with this, it is likely that Hitchcock will be more appealing to an ABC1 social grade, due to the fact that it is a biographical account, based in 1959.
The BFI Statistical Yearbook suggested that lower social grades such as DE preferred to watch films which required a suspension of belief, such as Johnny English: Reborn and Fast Five. In contrast, this film is based on fact, which is what makes it interesting and appealing to the higher social grades.

Characteristics and Values - The audience of this film is most likely going to be one with a knowledge of Mr Hitchcock's works and his success in the business, and if not, with an interest in film. It does not seem to be a film that appeals to only to people with this characteristic however, and most likely it will attract a new breed of cinema-enthusiasts.
Because of the plot and history behind the film, it is likely to probably attract fans of thriller films, and also fans of older films.
There is not enough revealed in the trailer really that suggests the values that the audience is expected to have; it does seem to have some tongue in cheek humour in it however, which means that the audience is not expected to take the film entirely seriously, but enjoy it in an amused fashion.

Les Miserables

This is the 2012 adaptation of classical musical Les Miserables. It is a musical, and stars actors such as Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman.

Age- The audience that is most likely to be attracted to this film is probably not that young, mainly because of the gruesome tale depicted in the film. Because it is musical in nature, it is likely to attract an older audience.
The casting for the film has made it into a "must see" because there are a lot of recognisable actors throughout. This may make it more appealing to a younger audience, for instance those below the age of 30. It may attract a younger audience, for instance between the ages of 15-24, as this group of people may have heard of Les Miserables before, but might have never gone to see it as a theatre production.

Gender- There is probably going to be a gender divide here, with more women watching the film than men. This is maybe because the musical nature of the film is deemed in society to be a more feminine aspect, and something that a lot of men tend not to watch.
The setting of the film and the conflict behind it may attract some men to watch it, but it seems that predominantly that the audience will have a strong female contingent. With a film like this, it is hard to tell exactly how different genders will react to it.

NRS Social Grade- Because Les Miserables was originally a book, then a musical, it is probable that the main audience will be of the AB social grade. The musical nature is not a humourous, easily accessible one either (for instance High School Musical) and seems to have a lot of political and military connotations. As a result, it is probably not going to be viewed by too many people of the DE social grade. As I discovered in G321, people of the DE social grade tend to watch films which involve more escapism than Les Miserables does, since it has a dark nature throughout most of the film.
Also, the DE population tend to enjoy films with a suspension of belief - for instance, Fast & Furious 5. Les Miserables has a rather gritty, realistic nature which may put off some audience members.
However, the film suggests a struggle to fight for what is right, and this may attract some audience members from lower social grades as they may feel inspired by this.

Characteristics and Values
I think that the audience of this film is likely to be one with high aspirations, as the tag line for the film is "Fight. Dream. Hope. Love", and these suggest a struggle and an ultimate success at the end. I think that the audience is likely to be one with roots in theatre and musicals, as it is a widely successful musical first and foremost and subsequently those who have viewed the musicals before are likely to be intrigued in watching the movie adaptation.
It is likely to appeal to people with a strong sense of right and wrong, judging from the trailer, which seems to show a lot of injustice and a sense of people overcoming it and rising up against a tyrannical Government.

Monsters University

This soon-to-be released prequel to 2001 hit Monsters Inc is an animated kids film based around the main characters, Mike and Sully, when they were learning to become "scarers" at university.

Age - Obviously the main audience for this film is children, predominantly those under the age of 14; however the fact that it is a long awaited accompaniment to a previous film means that is likely to attract an older youth audience, such as 15-24 year olds. The animated nature of the film should appeal to a lot of people, and even very young children.
The fact that is attracts such a young audience means that a lot of the people who go to see it will be parents, in the 25-34 and 35-44 age categories, and potentially even grandparents. This is owed mainly to the fact that the film appeals to both little children, with the colourful monsters, and the subtle "grown-up" humour that is often incorporated into films like this; for instance in the trailer, the cloying mother monster is constantly asking unnecessary questions before she pulls away when the monsters have gotten into the car, despite the fact that they are wanting to leave in a hurry - it is not something that young children will appreciate necessarily, but it appeals to a more mature audience and consequently it can be enjoyed by all manner of people.

Gender - Monsters University does not seem to have a specific demographic in mind when it comes to gender. The fact that the main characters are both male suggests that it might appeal more to male children, but overall it probably appeals to   both genders as the species of the characters means that gender is not something that seems to be obvious throughout the film.
In terms of an adult audience, it is probably yet again not specific to one gender - both mothers and fathers will bring their children to see it, probably as a family outing, and consequently it is likely that it is going to appeal to one gender over another.

NRS Social Grade - There is unlikely to be a clear divide here either, since it is an animated film aimed at children; within this young audience, social class is not as clear and hence it is likely that it will be enjoyed and viewed by people in all kinds of social grade, from A to E. The nature of university might appeal predominantly to an AB audience as this is a cultural value that this grade of people tend to have, from looking at the BFI statistical yearbook, whereas the escapist nature of the film is likely to appeal to a DE audience.
However, the film seems to have so many appealing features that it is likely to attract a very wide audience in terms of social grade.

Characteristics and Values - as it is aimed at a mainly juvenile audience, it is not likely to attract an audience based on a moral theme, such as in the previous two films studied; however, it has a lot of connotations with friendship, judging from the trailer, and this is something that a young audience should be able to relate to.