Audiences and Institutions: The Woman in Black (Watkins, 2012)

1) Who do you think the primary and secondary target audience is for The Woman in Black? Why?

I think that the primary target audience for The Women in Black was 'mainstreamers'. This is because the main advertising point for the film was that Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) had the lead role. Harry Potter is an incredibly mainstream film with fans all over the world, therefore fans from this film will more then likely want to watch him in The Women in Black.
The secondary target audience would be people under 20. Considering the film is a PG it's clear to see that the producers wanted to make the film available to as many people as possible. This also meant that families could go and see the film. People under the age of 20 are more then likely to want to watch a film that will scare them or give them a thrill, teenagers especially. Again Harry Potter would have been a child hood film for people under 20 which will be another selling point.

2) How was The Woman in black marketed? (think about the genre(s), sub-genre(s), media platforms, target audience, promotions, size of campaign, etc.).

The Women in Black was a world wide release and advertised through many platforms, however the major selling point was always prominent as being Daniel Radcliffe.

As you can see from this film poster Daniel Radcliffe is taking up the majority of the page, and where he isn't, his name is. This clearly emphasises his importance within the advertising campaign. Considering the film is about this feared, creepy women dressed in black you would have expected the posters to have been more about her.
The genre it's self is advertised as being a horror/thriller.

In this tralier traditional creepy effects are added. The background music is slow and ery, with a constant small chime repeating, sounding like the old broken toys that are on in the beginning of the trailer. There is also a small girls recitng a poem about the curse of the Women in Black. This explains the storyline and also spooks the audience out, making them want to watch the film to see what happens.
Other platforms used to advertise this film, was through radio, magazines, and merchandise. These were all very effective however it did cost half the funding that they had to produce the film.

3) Do you think the marketing materials for the film were appropriate? why?

I think that the materials used for marketing were appropiate. They managed to approach people of all ages, and interests to the film because their audience was so broad. They could advertise to families and children through the TV; teenagers and young adults through magazines and radio; and the population as a whole through billboards. Basically it was pretty hard to not know about the film.

4) What kind of release did the film have? (Big/small? How many cinemas showed the film on its release?)

The Women in Black was shown in the USA and the UK on the weekend of it's release. It was later shown in Spain aswell. On the first weekend the film brought in $20,874,072 in the USA from the 2,855 screenings it had. In the UK the film made £3,153,020 from the first 412 screenings. This is a very good release, and the success carried on throughout the time the film was in the cinema.

5) How much did The Women in Black cost to make? (production budget) AND what was the industry impact of The Women in Black? (Think box office and trends).

The Women in Black cost £8,018,827.50 overall to produce. This is a substantial amount of money however more of the production budget was spent on marketing of the movie, £8,636,276.87. However this paid off in the long run because the Women in Black done extremely well, bringing in £14,836,286.76 in the first weekend of being released. The sales of this film continued to expand which eventually made it the biggest selling british horror in 2012.

6) Why do you think the film was so successful? (you must come up with at least two reasons).

I think that the film was very successful because it appealed to a variety of audiences, meaning that lots of different people would go and see it.
Also the amount spent on advertising was extremely significant to the success, seeing as more then half the production cost was spent on it.