This probably doesn’t really capture the trend towards modern genre-hybridization, which is far more common these days, and how multiple genres can be applicable to a single film.
Screenwriting : Genre trends in film popularity. What have you noticed recently? by Pat Alexander
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I've been seeing a lot of genre mixes, Horror, Action, and Comedy coming out recently, Pat Alexander.
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I've seen action and documentary.
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There clearly hasn't been an inspirational western-war-musical in a long while. To break this trend, I mean.
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Wal Friman think The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) might've been the last one? Means we're about due! Please get to writing it :)
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The tough part is predicting what movies the audience wants to see 4/5 years in the future, when a script goes into production.
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Speaking with a prominent manager last week, he stated that he's starting to see a spread in demand that goes beyond the usual in vogue genres such as action, thriller and horror. He's had increased requests for comedy, romantic comedy, heist and con scripts, and genre mashups - comedy horror, action comedies and the like.
Good information if you have something in the drawer, but, as always, write what you are passionate about, not what the market dictates at the moment.
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If we look at the 30% of the industry that each genre consumes is a better indicator.
Some genres are never more than 15% of the sample they have used to generate the graphs. You can also see that these are tied to society and social norms.
Wars had a huge spike during the war. People wanted stories showing their side winning the war and being brave.
Romance and Westerns had a similar curve, which I find interesting. During the cultural revolution of the 60’s horror takes off. I would theorise that this becomes part of counterculture.
Just don’t look at these blindly. Look at your chosen genre and see what factors have influenced it over the years.
You can then look at today’s world, look at factors and how you can blend these with your chosen genre. This may give your work a more “now” feel.
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No drama category?
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Fascinating. Thank you, Pat.