Movie & Series Compelling fight scenes are essential to many different film genres, and a range of things can elevate a fight scene, including a funny moment or line. So, we tested 6 funny fight scene moments from the films below to see which ones really stood out for audiences, and why.
Over 90% of people said they like humorous moments implanted in fight scenes at least some of the time.
When it comes to landing a funny fight scene moment, focusing on execution is probably your best bet. Whether it actually makes people laugh or not seems to matter more to audience members than whether it fully meshes with the story, the world, or if it draws on earlier content from the movie.
Also worth noting, viewers show the least overall concern for undercutting the stakes of the fight with a funny moment. Given how cartoonish a great deal of Hollywood fighting is, suspension of disbelief is likely strong well before a character stops their fight to issue a humorous quip.
When we asked our viewers what the best part of each fight sequence was, in most cases we were surprised to find “the characters” coming in first or second place.
And this may explain why funny fight scene moments work so well. They allow you to showcase characterization and character dynamics, even when a sequence is heavily action oriented.
While Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War made a decent showing in our head-to-head, overall Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark still safely took the top spot among the six scenes we tested. The iconic moment when Indiana pulls out a gun while facing down an intimidating opponent with a sword remains a viewer favorite, despite this scene pushing 40 years of age.
Want to know more about what makes a funny fight scene work? Or want to know more about how audiences might react to your content? Reach out to us!
Want to know even more about what audiences found compelling in these clips? Or what they might find particularly engaging in your content? Reach out to us!
