How do film openings attract audiences?

Film openings attract audiences through a variety of audience theories, but the main audience theory which is used in order to attract audiences is the uses and gratifications theory. This theory suggests that the audience has a variety of different needs, and they watch the media product in order to satisfy one of these needs. Because of this, it is opposite to many theories, including the hypodermic needle theory, in that it focuses on how people use the media instead of how the media effects the audience. In order to show the audience that their specific need is going to be satisfied by that media product, the opening of the film should show how their need is going to be met by this film.

For example, in the opening of My Best Friends Wedding, the uses and gratifications theory is used in order to show the audience an idea of relationships which they are unlikely to have experienced, or want to experience, within their real lives. This means that it provides them entertainment, and an escape from their own relationships, which are two of the main reasons for an audience watching a film based on the uses and gratifications theory. Another application of the uses and gratifications theory within film openings can be seen within the opening of The Inbetweeners Movie. It is applied in a slightly different way here, as the film attracts the audience through showing them situations which they are likely to have experienced as a teenager/young adult, which they have probably tried to forget about. This means that the film evokes nostalgia for the audience, which is what encourages them to continue watching the rest of the film.

Another audience theory which can be used in order to attract audiences in a film opening is the hypodermic needle theory. This theory suggests that the audience can be taught to imitate behaviour which they see on the screen. Whilst this won't immediately cause them to be more attracted to the media product, when the people around them notice them copying the behaviour from the media product, they are likely to be intrigued to go and watch it themselves. This theory links to the opening of films because the first five minutes and last five minutes are what sticks in the mind of the audience the most, so if behaviour which is easy to imitate is shown at the beginning of the film, the audience are more likely to find themselves performing these behaviours, which exposes the film to a new audience.

A final audience theory used in film openings in order to attract audiences is the Reception Analysis Theory. This theory suggests that the audience will interpret the message of a film based on their various personal social factors, such as age, gender, ethnicity and social class. It is through this theory that film openings attract a certain audience, for example the opening to Reservoir Dogs immediately attracts a working class male audience between the ages of 16 and 40. It does this by showing characters who are exactly the same as the audience it is targeting, which means that its audience can relate with them much more deeply. This in turn encourages them to watch the rest of the film, as they know that they will be able to relate to the characters throughout it.


Studying the various theories within film openings which attract audiences has shown me how important it is to use a mixture of these theories in order to attract a large as audience as possible to our own opening. Whilst it has been argued that the hypodermic needle theory has become outdated in the modern media world, I still believe that it could be effective within our film, as it will allow the audience to sympathise more deeply with what they are seeing on the screen.