Much is said about fanbases, both by those in them and the people looking in from the outside. Whether you're a Marvel die-hard, crazy about Star Wars, a sports fan, or even a Swiftie, you'll know that every fanbase is made up of very different people.
The Wrap recently took a closer look at the demographics of two of those: Marvel and Star Wars (specifically in regards to their TV shows and movies).
According to the trade, "At a high level, the audiences for the Star Wars and Marvel franchises are both male-skewing" and "only a handful of Marvel titles had a more female-skewing audience."
However, Star Wars is said to be far more male-dominated, with a "70% or greater male share of [the] audience." It also has an older audience, likely due to when the original trilogy was released. In fact, over 60% of Star Wars fans are 30 and over.
Proving that there's not necessarily a sure-fire way to attract a specific demographic is the following:
"Three Marvel series have been successful at breaking through with female audiences - 'Marvel’s Agent Carter,' 'Marvel’s Jessica Jones,' and 'Loki.' 'Agent Carter,' in particular, with its strong female lead and blending of the superhero and historical drama genres, has won over female viewers, who make up over 60% of this show’s audience."
"Making inroads with female audiences is not as formulaic as simply casting a female lead, however. If we look at the Star Wars franchise, 'The Mandalorian' has had the most success expanding beyond the franchise’s male-dominated fanbase (rather than 'Ahsoka,' for example). Conversely, in the Marvel universe, 'Echo' has a female lead but one of the most male-skewing audiences (>80%)."
As you can see, female-led TV shows don't necessarily attract a female audience, making it tricky for the likes of Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm to draw a much larger, far more varied and diverse audience.
The report also seems to suggest that the Star Wars franchise is struggling to attract younger viewers. Not helping matters is the fact we haven't had a new movie set in the Galaxy Far, Far Away for five years and counting; as for Lucasfilm's Disney+ TV shows, outside of The Acolyte, they remain largely connected to a trilogy released decades ago.
Whether stats like these have a great amount of significance in the grand scheme of things is hard to say, though it does appear to suggest that both Marvel and Star Wars are struggling to create new fans.
Let us know your thoughts on this news in the usual place.