Don't know if the NYT realizes this, but old people went to see Ninja Assassin and The Hangover too. I've worked at a movie theater, and I spend a LOT of time at movie theaters, and usually about 20-30% of the audience, if not much more, would qualify for a senior discount at McD's. When I went to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo just after Christmas last year, there were only two other people, out of an audience of about 20-25, who looked to be under 40. So Marigold's success doesn't surprise me at all. Seniors are an audience with generally broad taste, in my experience, but serving them as a niche makes loads of sense. I'm just waiting for someone in Hollywood to realize that. It also helps that many old people are more aware of when movies are coming out, what they're about, who's in them, what it's based on, etc. People over 55 generally tend to look things up beforehand, rather than just showing up at a theater and flipping a coin on whether to see Battleship or The Dictator. They also watch shows like The View, Regis & Kelly, Today, GMA, Oprah (RIP), etc., where movies are a frequent topic of discussion. -JMT

Those are good points, JMT. I was surprised at the screening of The Avengers I attended how much of the crowd appeared to be over 50. Same thing recently with The Hunger Games. Funny thing is Hollywood didn't really 'discover' young people until the late 50s, then especially the 60s with Easy Rider, Bonnie & Clyde and The Graduate came along. But the nexus of Madison & Vine locked in teens and young adults, particularly males, they have rarely looked back, even when that demo group's number of movie ticket sales has steadily declined over the last 3 years. Meanwhile 78 million Boomers just sitting around waiting for decent movies to come along.

I think the real powers that be in Hollywood understand that older folks go to movies... but they also know that people over 40 don't tend to be the ones who buy the t-shirts and the dolls and the games, unless they're buying them for their children. There was a chart that came out a while back that showed how much money some company (Disney, maybe?) made from it's films and how much it made from the ancillary products associated with those films. The difference was pretty eye-opening.

Witness all of the Princess Merida merchandise already on the shelves ahead of Brave.

I totally get that, Annika. The 'Cars' franchise, which is my least favorite Pixar title, has made Disney billions in merchandising. What I'm talking about is a company that says: "We are going to make movies for no more than $20-30M and target Baby Boomers and Seniors." It's not sexy, it's probably mostly adult dramas, drama-comedies, some types of comedies ("It's Complicated"), maybe mysteries or biopics (like "The King's Speech"). But if they do it right, they could, I think, make a profit. Nothing earth-shattering, but a target demo that has proven they will show up for good movies in their areas of interest.

I work in a cinema and can very much confirm that. Indeed, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel sold out for weeks. Not only were older people making up the majority of the audience, but quite a few of them came to watch it not once but up to six times! That was also true of Salmon Fishing, Tinker Tailor, The King's Speech, The Iron Lady (admittedly, of particular interest for British folks), indies such as Martha Marcy May Marlene and foreign language films. They even showed up for The Dictator.

[...] at recent box office gamechangers Feeling inspired after seeing a tweet wonderfully titled “News Flash: Old Farts Love Movies!” by Scott Myers of my favorite screenwriting site Go Into The Story, I thought it might be fitting [...]

"Gee, if only someone had been posting articles like Old Hippies to Save Movie Industry? Or pointing out how stupid it is to blame Baby Boomers for a B.O. downturn when the real culprit is producing shitty movies. Yet every time a good adult drama gets released and racks up numbers like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Hollywood acts like they just discovered their butthole." Could not agree more!!! I work in an office with lots of folks over 50. I've found that they are a PERFECT audience for pitching loglines. They're honest about what they would or would not see just as much as any teen or twenty-something. Movies are the primary topic of discussion on Mondays and Fridays - "What did you see? What are you going to see?" While they're not totally on board with seeing Magic Mike (I AM), they're chomping at the bit to see Prometheus. And yes, Martha Marcy May Marlene was very popular in here. Why are they so ignored as a demographic? The baby boomer gen is enormous. They have more free time since their kids are grown, and they have money to spend. Hello, Hollywood.

It might have something to do with the fact that they're not as easily duped by hype or marketing campaigns. They actually read reviews and care if a movie is good or not. This means Hollywood has little control over what they will or won't see, making every movie more of a risk. You think they found out about "Marigold Hotel" from a TV commercial or online ad? It was word of mouth, reviews, maybe talk shows - things that Hollywood has less control over. And yes, the merchandising for those films are close to nothing. Then again... "The Bucket List".

Scott, I totally agree. I have always thought that Hollywood was missing the boat when it comes to Boomers. This demographic would go to movies in the vein of Hitchcock, Wilder and Sturges... low budget, quiet movies that entertain. Who could ask for more? Keep Writing!