What genres of movies are popular now. What aren't? One chart.

I'm literally sick to my stomach. I search and search...nothing. A guy can't find a musical to watch if his life depended on it!

This chart offers a fascinating look at the rise and fall of film genres from 1910 to 2021, based on IMDb tagging. Westerns dominated the early 20th century, peaking in the 1950s before falling sharply. Musicals surged during the 1930s–50s Golden Age of Hollywood, then faded. War films spiked during WWII and Vietnam-era cinema but have since declined.

Romance, crime, and comedy held steady across decades, with comedy peaking in the 1980s. Meanwhile, horror and thriller have steadily grown, with thrillers seeing a sharp rise in recent decades. Sci-fi, once a niche genre, exploded from the 1970s onward—think Star Wars and Blade Runner.

Documentaries and fantasy saw major increases after 2000, likely due to digital streaming and franchise booms like Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. Overall, the data reflects not only cinematic trends but shifting cultural tastes, global events, and advances in technology.