It's Hannah Montana's World; We're Just Living In It

By Katey Rich

Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: The Best of Both Worlds was the biggest box-office earner last weekend, taking in $30 million, over twice the earnings of its nearest competitor. Film Journal featured Hannah Montana in our most recent issue in an article about 3D concert movies, talking about its use of cutting-edge digital 3D technology (much like the technology used in U2 3D, also featured in the article and written about in this blog).I was absolutely aware of the movie, and the potential it had to tap into Hannah Montana's enormous fan base. But opening on fewer than 700 screens, Hannah seemed destined to play second-fiddle to wider releases like Over Her Dead Body and The Eye, even if those films were entirely mediocre.

Well, it turns out it never pays to underestimate the power of tweenage girls. It's interesting that girls in that age range, from about 8 to 12, have become a huge force in the toy and television industry, but have barely made an impact at the movies. The Bratz movie, based on the popular toy line, bombed in August, as did the revamp of Nancy Drew earlier that summer. Animated movies these days, as I mentioned a few weeks ago, have become very gender-neutral thanks to Pixar's influence, and the movies seem to skip straight from young children to targeting older teens, without ever making a stop in the middle.

Does the success of this movie mean things are about to change? Hannah Montana, of course, is a character created for television, and her success is largely thanks to the Disney Channel TV show, part of a long list of TV shows aimed toward tween girls (Zoey 101, featuring the infamously pregnant Jamie Lynn Spears, is an example of one that will likely not hit the big screen any time soon). These Disney Channel shows don't exactly lend themselves to feature-length format, given their love of physical comedy and easy, obvious jokes; it's hard to imagine even the most patient parent sitting through The Suite Life of Zack and Cody: The Movie. But with Hannah Montana Disney figured out a way not only to bring a popular character to the big screen, but do so with a gimmick unique to the big screen and impossible to resist. You may like Hannah on TV, but you'll love her in 3D.

Young girls clearly proved this weekend that they've got money to spend and will get out there in droves to spend it. I know that not every movie aimed toward this age group will be a hit-- parents, especially with girls that age, can be vigilant about what is and is not appropriate, and probably won't be greenlighting a ticket to a Paris Hilton movie anytime soon. But with High School Musical 3 heading to big screens this fall, and Hannah extending her one-week run, tween girls may be about to have their moment. They could replace teenage boys as the target audience du jour, which would mean a lot fewer severed limbs and lazy parodies and more glitter, sequins and makeup tips. Parents, brace yourselves for the high-pitched squeals of a bunch of little girls who are finally getting the attention they deserve.