Teens Love the Silver Screen

Has the recession dampened America's passion for going to the movies? Definitely not for teenagers. A new report from The Nielsen Company details media usage by teens, who remain the #1 moviegoing demographic group. Here are a few notable findings:

• About a third of teens prefer seeing movies in the theater over at-home options. It's good to know that young people aren't being turned off by gabby seat neighbors, crying babies, and the cost of popcorn...the way I often am. There are more ways to watch movies at home than ever before, yet many people still prefer the authentic cineplex experience.
  
  
• The typical teen saw almost 11 movies in the theater last year (a higher average than any other age group). With all the buzz and box-office receipts concentrated in the first month of a film's release, it's definitely a zero-sum game when it comes to movie advertising. If you can't get people to choose your movie as their "movie of the month," you may be out of luck by the time they return to the theater in 4-5 weeks.
  
  
• Comedy ranks as the most popular movie genre among teens (85%), while only half of teens consider themselves fans of horror flicks. Guess that's why The Grudge 3 went straight to DVD. While horror is clearly an acquired taste, I was surprised to find that comedy was more popular than action-adventure (80%). I can't think of any good PG-13 comedy from recent months off the top of my head, whereas I can definitely remember a slew of popular action blockbusters.

Are teens sneaking into R-rated comedies? Is the popularity of comedies bolstered by young teens (age 12-14), whereas older teens gravitate toward action movies like Terminator Salvation? Could be part of the trend that's seen comedies increasingly push the boundaries of "decency" (Superbad, The Hangover) -- thus ending up squarely in the R category -- while action-adventure movies (Live Free or Die Hard, Terminator Salvation) have moved in the opposite direction.

Both seem like positive developments for these genres, at least from a business standpoint. R-rated comedies are free to offend their way to box-office glory, while action flicks moderate their sex/violence/language just enough to snag a PG-13 label and a hefty sum of allowance money from those heavy-moviegoing teens.

My vote is for less watering down of action flicks, but who am I to stand in the way of Hollywood capitalism?