# What movies appeal equally to both men and women? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 21, 2024, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137 "2024-03-21T11:47:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137/1 "2024-03-21T11:47:05Z")
I watched Barbie yesterday - and my conclusion (right or wrong) was that women would have been more likely to enjoy it than men. Which made me wonder - what movies - either genre or specific titles - have the broadest appeal to both men and women? Looking at the recent Oscar noms, Oppenheimer? Killers of the Flower Moon? Poor Things? My understanding is that traditionally audiences for romances are expected to skew female, and action/thrillers male. And I had assumed Star Trek/Star Wars/comic book series traditionally appealed to men, but I personally know (very small sample) as many female fans of such movies as men. I was trying to think of a historical film that would appeal equally to women and men, and found it more challenging than I would have expected. Maybe something like Casablanca - a romance with a tough guy lead? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137/2 "2024-03-21T11:55:42Z")
_Titanic_ probably came closest to that sweet spot. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137/3 "2024-03-21T12:49:25Z")
Mann’s _Last of the Mohicans_ does this pretty well, too. Swooning romance plus historical adventure. I know men and women who both appreciate it. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137/4 "2024-03-21T12:53:03Z")
The Princess Bride may qualify. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137/5 "2024-03-21T12:53:40Z")
I thought of Titanic mainly as a romance. What was the appeal to guys? All the CGI? Saw LotM a long time ago. Don’t remember much of it. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137/6 "2024-03-21T13:00:09Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > _Titanic_ probably came closest to that sweet spot. I too doubt this to some degree. > [@mcgato](#): > > The Princess Bride may qualify. This I agree with. I’ll add, Ghostbusters & Groundhog Day. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137/7 "2024-03-21T13:01:31Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Swooning romance plus historical adventure. So now I’m wondering: in order to appeal equally to both men and women, does a movie have to have some ingredients that appeal to men and other ingredients that appeal to women? Or can men and women equally appreciate the same things about a movie? By the way, I guess it would technically count as a “movie appealing equally to both men and women” if the movie were so bad that it had zero appeal for both men and women. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137/8 "2024-03-21T13:23:05Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > > > _Titanic_ probably came closest to that sweet spot. > > I too doubt this to some degree. Unfortunately, IMDb eliminated its demographics splits about six months ago. However, that’s what the wayback machine is for. Titanic scored well with both men and women, but there is a significant difference > **[Titanic (1997) - IMDb](https://web.archive.org/web/20211014225536/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120338/ratings/?ref_=tt_ov_rt)** > > Titanic (1997) on IMDb: Movies, TV, Celebs, and more... Also, princess bride: women 8.2, man 7.9. Casablanca: men 8.5, women 8.3. Last of the Mohicans: men 7.6, women 7.8. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137/9 "2024-03-21T13:27:26Z")
The Shawshank Redemption? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137/10 "2024-03-21T13:30:18Z")
Shawshank redemption: both men and women equal 9.3. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137/11 "2024-03-21T13:35:10Z")
Which is interesting, because pretty much all the characters are men. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137/12 "2024-03-21T13:39:24Z")
I came here to offer The Princess Bride, but I see it’s already been mentioned, so I’ll go with Napoleon Dynamite. Just a guess based on the reactions I’ve seen to that movie from my friends. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137/13 "2024-03-21T13:40:48Z")
I’d guess comedies in general are typically aimed to have a broad audience, so that makes sense. At least with my wife, thriller/action movies with female protagonists tend to be popular with both of us. She likes seeing them kick ass with/on the boys, and I like the action movie part. We both enjoyed _Woman King_ and _Gunpowder Milkshake_, for a couple of examples. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137/14 "2024-03-21T13:42:24Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > so I’ll go with Napoleon Dynamite. Just a guess based on the reactions I’ve seen to that movie from my friends. 6.9/6.9! ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137/15 "2024-03-21T14:03:28Z")
I think your John Hughes/80s teen movies appeal across the board. Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Heathers, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, etc. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137/16 "2024-03-21T14:05:05Z")
I think those are good ones. Add Beetlejuice also. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137/17 "2024-03-21T14:06:43Z")
Them’s the breaks at prisons. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137/18 "2024-03-21T14:11:00Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I thought of Titanic mainly as a romance. What was the appeal to guys? All the CGI? There’s quite a bit of thrilling action in the film, with life-and-death stakes, plus one of the world’s biggest real-life disasters as a setting. That’s how I see Titanic, at least. I don’t think CGI is an appeal to any moviegoer. It’s the action that’s enhanced with it (in good cases). ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137/19 "2024-03-21T14:11:50Z")
Breakfast club 7.8/8.0. Ferris Bueller, 7.7/7.8. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137/20 "2024-03-21T18:33:40Z")
I personally liked _Steel Magnolias, Fried Green Tomatoes_ and _Beaches_. Would most men like them? I don’t know. YMMV [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-appeal-equally-to-both-men-and-women/999137.md?page=2)