There is clear emphasis that an arthouse film and an arthouse cinema is not made for pure entertainment. There is always a deeper message into every film and if you are someone who goes to the cinema for just entertainment purposes, chances are they you won't enter an arthouse cinema. The reason being is that arthouse films are difficult to understand because there are no sets of rules for it and the director, producer and screenwriter has absolute freedom over what to do in the film. The mainstream audience for a mainstream film usually have a certain expectation such as an equilibrium where the hero and the whole story is balanced and set. Then there is a disequilibrium where the hero usually falls in deep trouble with the villain and then the new equilibrium where the story is balanced again and a 'happily ever after'. However, in arthouse films that is not always the case, sometimes the hero would die and there is no new equilibrium. The point is that there is no rules and arthouse films are made for an artistic and deep cultural understanding. Not for the entertainment and money that a mainstream film in a mainstream cinema would generate.
Certain audiences fail to grasp and have interest in arthouse films because there is an inter-textual understanding which they simply fail to understand. Ultimately, arthouse films are not for everyone. Firstly, they cost a bit more to go watch than a normal mainstream blockbuster at a multiplex cinema. Secondly, the films that get shown are not the usual and don't usually follow certain rules which are abided by mainstream Hollywood films. Last but not least, these arthouse films are like art galleries but in moving pictures, they are simply there for the aesthetic and beauty of it. The director and production team aren't looking to generate huge amounts of profit or money. For them, getting good ratings and a niche audience and awards is the main aim.
Arthouse films are for older and more middle classed audiences because they are there for the pure aesthetic of it and like how they also probably love going on wine tasting adventures and bet on horse races. It's part of their cultural and upbringing. They also don't mind spending a few extra to go have a theatrical experience watching a film because they have that extra disposable income rather than the lower classed people who might not have much and would be forced to go to a multiplex cinema which would end up a lot cheaper since they would take their families out too. However, audiences of arthouse films are usually in pairs, partners or "just friends". Also, arthouse cinemas don't usually focus on food and confectionery because the cinemas themselves usually have a waiter/usher in the cinema and more elegant food gets handed out rather than microwaved popcorn and powdered coke.
A Field in England would have the average audience of any arthouse cinema and film because it again is about a deep topic. A psychedelic trip in the English Civil War. This topic would never interest a teenager unless they are also on a trip themselves. An old niche audience probably interested in history. Maybe professors who studied the English Civil War their whole life. Definitely people keen on art and the future for film because the type of editing done in A Field in England is very impressive and very different to the usual sorts of editing. The fact that Ben Wheatley and the board for the film decided to release the film on every single platform shows that they are targeting a very trustworthy set of audience because after the release dates, there's not much of a way to make money again but then again arthouse films are not looking to make profit, they are just there for artsy purposes and aim to have a deep cultural and inter-textual understanding which a normal audience looking for entertainment will never understand.
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