10 Most Annoying Phrases In The Movie Business

3. Four-Quadrant Appeal

THE MUMMY FANS
Marvel Studios

What it really means: 'Let's make things so bland that it should technically appeal to everybody'.

One of those infuriating words bandied about by studio executives, four-quadrant movies are designed and manufactured to appeal to the four demographics of the cinema-going audience; males and females, above and below 25. So in short, everyone. Why can't they just say 'everyone'?

It is essentially every big-budget movie that rolls off the Hollywood production line, backed by a slew of merchandising tie-ins and intense promotion over all forms of media. While that makes it all sound a little cynical, these are the movies that bring in billions for the industry, and there's a reason why they're all so micromanaged and frustratingly familiar these days.

But the whole 'four-quadrant appeal' phrase makes it sound like they're aiming directly for your wallet with a carefully-designed product as opposed to delivering two hours of entertainment that you'll quite happily pay for.

Contributor

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