Executives at Walt Disney studios are asking Hollywood creatives for movies aimed at teenage boys, according to recent reporting in Variety. On one hand, this is hilarious. Since at least the 1980s, movie studios have been fixated on catering to an audience of teenage boys. This is not a new concept.

On the other hand, teen films as a genre — most of which were geared to all kids, regardless of gender — are a casualty of the changing business model brought on by streaming, as studios have abandoned mid-budget films to focus almost exclusively on blockbusters.

I can’t think of a single teen movie that’s played in theaters this year. Does “Freakier Friday” qualify?

Not really, according to Jacqueline Johnson, a teaching associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh. The 2003 version

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