Stupid movies for girls are doing really well at the moment. Figures for puerile chick flicks like Valentine’s Day and Dear John have become box office leaders, while the male sector of the movie going public has diminished. The reason? Videogames, of course. Videogames and UFC are to blame!
“A lot of young males are spending much more time on the internet, games and UFC [ultimate fighting],” claims Peter Guber, chairman of the Mandalay Pictures production company. “They have not abandoned movies but they have diminished as a target, while the female audience has remained robust.”
Considering females are an ever-growing demographic in videogames, I’m not sure that the whole “Men play games and women don’t” argument really holds so much water these days. Plus, Avatar is the most successful movie of all time, and I wouldn’t call that a chick flick. I do agree that games may be part of the thinning of an audience — there are so many entertainment options these days that not everyone will be going to cinemas and consumers are more dispersed — but I think the particular logic in this instance is flawed.
