How important is genre for producers and audiences?

Genre is important for audiences because it allows them to know what kind of film they are going to see and what they can expect when going to see a film. For example if the genre is horror, then the audience know they are going to see a scary film and they should expect to feel scared. They don’t expect to walk in and feel happy because the guy finally got the girl.
Also certain audiences prefer certain genres. The genre allows the audience to choose what type of films they like to watch. In the forum discussion plainJane commented that “genres make choosing a film easier.” This shows that the genre helps the audience to categorise movies. It also shows that it is easier to gratify audience needs.
Audiences also know that certain actors are associated with certain genres and so if a film comes out that is rom-com and the audience love Jennifer Anniston then they know that she is most likely going to star in this particular film.
Audiences can look at cinema admissions and look to see what the most popular genre is and this helps them to decide on what to go see. So it isn’t just the genre that is important, but the popularity of a genre. For example, in an extract from Exhibitors’ Association news release, there were 170 million cinema admissions to see Avatar. This shows that this kind of genre is popular and so audience members will want to go see it.
Genre also allows for social interaction and escapism. It allows for social interaction as people who like the same genre will be able to talk about it and also friendship groups who like the same genre can all go see a film together. In the forum discussion it shows the top genres with the highest market share and comedy ranks as one of the highest. There is a comment from Wishwriter who says “this chart proves it- comedies rule! Everybody loves a comedy, that’s why they sell.” People can discuss their favourite genres and why they like them even if you don’t know the people. It allows for