Quoted from SAC ... Supposedly the least "marketable" genre!

Top-Grossing Genres 1995 to 2014
           Movies     Total Gross     Average Gross     Market Share
1      Comedy      2,017      $38,644,443,230      $19,159,367      22.36%
2      Adventure      605      $37,901,192,572      $62,646,599      21.93%
3      Action      677      $29,911,606,846      $44,182,580      17.30%
4      Drama      3,709      $28,760,646,302      $7,754,286      16.64%
5      Thriller/Suspense      724      $14,503,659,063      $20,032,678      8.39%
6      Romantic Comedy      469      $9,154,851,603      $19,519,939      5.30%
7      Horror      401      $7,827,131,676      $19,519,032      4.53%
8      Documentary      1,451      $1,848,532,165      $1,273,971      1.07%
9      Musical      125      $1,686,777,810      $13,494,222      0.98%
10      Black Comedy      123      $1,110,746,177      $9,030,457      0.64%

That doesn't tell the whole story, though.

The dramas that make the money tend to be the huge star vehicles that are pimped hard come Oscar time.

Smaller dramas struggle hard for recognition.

One of the problems is that there are simply so many of them. Every festival is chock full of good ones. The majority never get a distribution deal. Genre films are far easier to sell, generally speaking.

One in five hundred-thousand spec screenplays in active circulation will be made into a film.

Three out of four films are written by the director.


Write the fun film first.
Write the marketable film second.
Won't affect the odds of either film being sold, shot, and on screen in the next five years.
Gopherit!

Simon,

Thanks for the encouraging stats.

Quoted from RayW One in five hundred-thousand spec screenplays in active circulation will be made into a film.

As long as the odds continue to be less than winning the Mega, I will keep on writing!

Quoted from SAC Simon, Thanks for the encouraging stats. As long as the odds continue to be less than winning the Mega, I will keep on writing!

Great response.  

Figure out which version is "what do I want to say?" instead of "I have an idea for a movie" and then write that one...