Our changing taste in movies

The past 30 years have seen marked changes at the box office, with dramatisations of novels or real life incidents now gaining in popularity as the taste for fantasy and superhero genres declines


U.S. MOVIE BOX OFFICE MARKET SHARE BY GENRE, 1995-2024 (%)

Contemporary fiction	Dramatisation	Children’s fiction 
Science fiction	Superhero	Historical fiction	Fantasy	Other

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020

Critically acclaimed Dune: Part 2 looks set to boost sci-fi genre in 2024


KEY TAKEAWAYS

                                                                                                                                          Contemporary fiction: Declined 22% from 1995 to 2024

Dramatisations: Riding high at 18.7% – up from 3.6% in 2021

Superhero movies: Peaked at 32.1% in 2021 – down to 9.2% in 2024

Fantasy films: Fell to 1.6% in 2024, from high of 18.8% in 2010
            

Sources: The Numbers, Chartr 
Picture: © Warner Bros
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