Introduction

In the Hollywood movie industry, a four-quadrant movie is one which appeals to all four major demographic ‘quadrants’ of the moviegoing audience: both male and female, and both over- and under-25s (see below).

In general, films are aimed (to 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.

Although four-quadrant movies are generally family-friendly, this is not a requirement. Some other genres meeting this may be romantic (such as Titanic and Meet the Parents) or horror films, or be crowd-pleasing in nature, such as high-profile action films or adaptations of popular novels.

Four-quadrant movies often have both adult and child protagonists.

They are often built on a ‘high-concept’ premise with well-delineated heroes and villains, with emotion, action and danger present in the story.

The Four Quadrants

1st Quadrant Male Under 25	2nd Quadrant Female Under 25
3rd Quadrant Male Over 25	4th Quadrant Female Over 25