History PeripheryDemographic / Film

* ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'' has a small following amongst college students, many of whom grew up with [[WesternAnimation/MonstersInc the film it is a prequel to]] and can relate to the troubles Mike and Sulley go through at college.

* [[https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/the-wonderful-geek-sexiness-of-jeff-goldblum A (sadly now deleted) commentary]] pondering the [[MemeticMutation memetic status]] of Creator/JeffGoldblum in TheNewTens argues that it partially stems from his being, in the 1980-'90s, one of the few men who worked extensively in "genre" films who was ''also'' presented as an object of FemaleGaze (the key examples being ''Film/TheFly1986'', ''Film/EarthGirlsAreEasy'', and ''Film/JurassicPark''). Between this and so many of his heroes being [[NerdsAreSexy brains-over-brawn types]], often EndearinglyDorky ones to boot, the result was his garnering several generations' worth of female sci-fi and horror fans. It's come to the point that ''Jurassic Park'' merchandising and advertising has played into this, with both a limited edition Funko Pop! figure and the ''standard'' 2019 Lego mini-figure depicting his character's ShirtlessScene post-T-rex attack look.

** As did the the live-action ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' movie. [[Film/BatmanForever Chicks really love the cars]].

** Indeed, Creator/JimCarrey's sudden arrival on the A-list in 1994 was in part due to this trope. As Creator/BobChipman discussed in a retrospective article, ''Series/InLivingColor'' was not a kid-friendly show but a lot of kids watched it anyway and were fond of his colorful characters and {{Slapstick}} skill -- to the point that ''Disney Adventures'' did a short interview with him at the height of its popularity! As a result, they turned out in droves alongside or in lieu of adults for the PG-13 rated ''Film/AceVentura -- Pet Detective'', ''Film/TheMask'', and ''Film/DumbAndDumber'' in 1994. With this in mind he would be cast in more family-friendly PG fare alongside his "harder" work; in particular, ''Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'' and the ''Film/SonicTheHedgehog'' movies are among the biggest financial successes of his career.

* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainUnderpantsTheFirstEpicMovie'' is another Dreamworks film with a bigger audience of adults and teenagers than children, due to a combination of said older fans reading the books as children, the colorful animation, and the ''HoYay'' between two of the male protagonists.

* ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'' was aimed towards families, but was marketed as more "edgy" as its animated contemporaries to help draw in more adults. These viewers enjoy the deconstruction of ogre folklore, as well as the relatable marital problems of Shrek and Fiona, since it’s something that fairy tales (let alone kids movies in general) never bring up. What married adult can’t relate Shrek's nightmare about being a father or Fiona's frustration with her parents' rejection of Shrek? Even moreso, however, the film grew an ironic, [[MemeticMutation memetic]] cult following over a decade after its release, with many fan projects, real-life festivals and crossover memes dedicated to the not-so-jolly green giant.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'' is a story about TheHero fighting TheEmpire [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace IN SPACE]], and clearly aimed at the SciFi crowd. It ended up appealing to, in one way or another, ''[[MultipleDemographicAppeal absolutely everyone]]''.
** For more context, ''Franchise/StarWars'' was seen as a somewhat juvenile film for adolescent males when it came out, who still love it today as adults. But the reason it persists as a MerchandiseDriven behemoth is its perennial appeal to children who can't get enough of the RuleOfCool visuals with epic space battles, awesome lightsaber duels, memorable character designs and to the chagrin of adult fans, the occasional RidiculouslyCuteCritter. Children grow up into adult fans who show it to their children, and the circle is complete.

* Although ''Film/{{Paddington}}'' was made for children, there are a lot of adult fans who grew up with the character and love the film as well.

* The ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'' children's movies have a big teenage/twentysomething following on sites like Website/DeviantArt, mostly due to its clever humor and emotional depth. Not to mention the massive ''[[EstrogenBrigade legion]]'' of teenage girls who watch it primarily for [[MrFanservice Hiccup]].
* Another big Creator/DreamWorksAnimation franchise, ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', was enjoyed for the same reasons.

* The ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'' films have gained a huge following of teenage and adult fans. In fact, it's hard to go anywhere without seeing Minion-laden merchandise for different age groups.

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Trolls}}'' franchise has a fanbase of people older than the target audience of girls 2-12, most of whom are female and obsess over Branch, often pairing him with Poppy and calling the couple "Broppy". It helps that the franchise has great songs, especially in [[WesternAnimation/TrollsTheBeatGoesOn the animated series adapted from the film]]. It also helps that Music/JustinTimberlake plays Branch in the film, attracting a few of his fans as well. The franchise is so beloved by this older demographic that Dreamworks made adult-oriented merchandise like make-up to promote ''WesternAnimation/TrollsWorldTour''.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' was aimed towards families, but was marketed as more "edgy" as its animated contemporaries to help draw in more adults. These viewers enjoy the deconstruction of ogre folklore, as well as the relatable marital problems of Shrek and Fiona, since it’s something that fairy tales (let alone kids movies in general) never bring up. What married adult can’t relate Shrek's nightmare about being a father or Fiona's frustration with her parents' rejection of Shrek? Even moreso, however, the film grew an ironic, [[MemeticMutation memetic]] cult following over a decade after its release, with many fan projects, real-life festivals and crossover memes dedicated to the not-so-jolly green giant.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'' is a story about TheHero fighting TheEmpire [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace IN SPACE]], and clearly aimed at the SciFi crowd. It ended up appealing to, in one way or another, ''absolutely everyone''.

** Indeed, Creator/JimCarrey's sudden arrival on the A-list in 1994 was in part due to this trope. As Creator/BobChipman discussed in a retrospective article, ''Series/InLivingColor'' was not a kid-friendly show but a lot of kids watched it anyway and were fond of his colorful characters and {{Slapstick}} skill -- to the point that ''Disney Adventures'' did a short interview with him at the height of its popularity! As a result, they turned out in droves alongside or in lieu of adults for the PG-13 rated ''Film/AceVentura -- Pet Detective'', ''Film/TheMask'', and ''Film/DumbAndDumber'' in 1994. With this in mind he would be cast in more family-friendly PG fare alongside his "harder" work: ''Film/LiarLiar'', ''Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'', and the ''Film/SonicTheHedgehog'' movies are among his biggest hits.

* Outside of its original audience of fans of [[VideoGame/{{Doom}} the game]] and more typical action movie viewers, the 2005 ''Film/{{Doom}}'' film adaptation has become a CultClassic for [[IncestYayShipping incest shippers]] in modern Internet fandom culture. To further expand, many of the aforementioned shippers ship [[{{Twincest}} the fraternal twins]] John "Reaper" Grimm and Dr. Samantha Grimm, a BrotherSisterTeam who are the film's primary protagonists and serve as TheNotLoveInterest to one another. And in the shippers' defense, the film has several {{Relationship Writing Fumble}}s regarding John and Sam's relationship, to the point where even some of the film's own characters [[RelativeError initially think Sam was John's ex-wife]], not his sister.
** Similar things can be said about ''Film/HouseOfWax2005'' and ''Film/HanselAndGretelWitchHunters''. All three films have {{Relationship Writing Fumble}}s that have the FanPreferredCouple be between a pair of siblings, and have appropriately attracted large groups of incest shippers. This makes for the amusing situation where despite all three movies being very dark and gory horror-action films, large portions of their respective fanfiction archives consist of lighthearted fluffy romantic pieces between each film's pairs of [[BrotherSisterTeam sibling protagonists]]. What certainly helps is that all three films present the (implied) relationships between each sibling pair as rather non-toxic and even positive, which is understandably exceptionally rare to see in portrayals of incest (sub-textual or otherwise) and so is seen as a "welcome relief" by the respective shippers.