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#SHOWBIZ: Which movie genres are most popular with different generations?

Choosing what movie to watch as a family is no easy task. While some prefer the frights of a horror film, others want their hearts warmed with a rom-com.

And according to a study by Parrot Analytics, each generation has its preferred genre, potentially reinforcing certain clichés.

New research appears to have done nothing to counter certain preconceived ideas surrounding movies.

Often associated with an older audience, Westerns set during the conquest of the American West, appeal much more to Generation X than to Gen Z viewers, for example, according to a new study from Parrot Analytics.

The 45-59 age group is the most enthusiastic about this genre, while the 14-29 age group prefers animation. Over 40 per cent  of movies with a Gen Z-heavy audience are animated films.

That's far more than any other generation.

"The two genres that best illustrate the divergent tastes of the youngest and oldest generations are Westerns and animation," reports Parrot Analytics.

Zennials, the microgeneration between Gen Z and Millennials, are particularly fond of romantic movies (31 per cent).

Zennials prefer this genre to animated, horror and Western films.

"The share of movies that have older skewing audiences and are in the romance genre is significantly lower," the report reads.

While the older generation prefers Westerns, and Gen Z animation, Millennials have a more pronounced taste for horror films.

Nearly 20 per cent of the movies with a strong Millennial audience are horror films, compared with 10 per cent for other generations.

The question remains as to whether tastes change with age.

The trend appears to be supported by the study, with younger people being more fond of comedies, while older people prefer dramas.

"For example, the history genre is barely a blip on the radar of the youngest generations.

"For Millennials, the share of movies with extremely Millennial audiences that are in the history genre rises to five per cent  and by the time we've reached the Gen X age group, we've hit peak nostalgia and fully 10 per cent of titles that are heavily skewed toward this generation are in the history genre," the research states.

"There is a clear shift in preferences for the comedy genre from the youngest to the oldest audiences.

"Over 50 per cent of movies with Gen Z skewing audiences were comedies."

This share drops slightly for Millennials and Zennials but then falls by nearly half for the oldest generations (25.6 per cent).

The relative preference for dramas over comedies also flips between the youngest and oldest generation. Forty-two percent of movies with Gen Z-skewing audiences were dramas compared with 61 per cent of movies with audiences skewed toward the oldest age group.

"Understanding the content preferences of different generations is key for platforms looking to curate a catalog with something for every age group," the research concludes.

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