Cinema Attendance Research Articles

‘Making Every Seat for Everyone’: Audience Development Research Report for New Independent Cinema FilmLab

The British independent film industry has experienced a consistent decline in revenues over the past decades, resulting in heightened competition among independent cinemas. FilmLab, a newly established independent cinema affiliated with ArtsLab - a highly regarded arts organisation in Edinburgh – has commissioned this report in response to its client brief. The aim is to help FilmLab attract wider audiences using limited financial resources. We adopted audience development as the approach to address these concerns because of its two characteristics: first, its social objective of making the arts widely accessible, and second, its equal attention to the needs of existing and potential audiences. Existing research emphasises the significance of reducing barriers to participation in the audience development process. However, much of the previous work in this field has primarily focused on mainstream cinema attendance. As a result, the applicability of these findings for niche, less economically productive independent cinemas remains unclear. Therefore, this report mainly examines the barriers that prevent Edinburgh residents from independent cinemas and explores how FimLab can increase participation among different groups by creating more opportunities for participation. Through a questionnaire and eight follow-up interviews with Edinburgh residents, along with semi-structured interviews with five industry experts, we identified barriers and potential incentives in four crucial aspects: visibility, attractiveness, affordability, and sustainability. Meanwhile, we developed corresponding recommendations. We propose that independent cinemas could serve as open and accessible spaces for all audiences by reducing the common barriers to audience participation. The findings of this report may offer references for the identification of barriers to independent cinema attendance, while our strategies could inspire audience development strategies for independent cinemas.

Psychological predictors of socioeconomic resilience amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from machine learning.

What predicts cross-country differences in the recovery of socioeconomic activity from the COVID-19 pandemic? To answer this question, we examined how quickly countries' socioeconomic activity bounced back to normalcy from disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic based on residents' attitudes, values, and beliefs as measured in the World Values Survey. We trained nine preregistered machine learning models to predict the rate at which various socioeconomic metrics (e.g., public transportation occupancy, cinema attendance) recovered from their COVID-19 lows based on the World Values Survey. All models had high predictive accuracy when presented with out-of-sample data (rs ≥ .83). Feature importance analyses identified five psychological predictors that most strongly predicted socioeconomic recovery from COVID-19: religiosity, liberal social attitudes, the value of independence, obedience to authority, and the Protestant work ethic. Although past research has established the role of religiosity, liberalism, and independence in predicting resilience, it has not yet considered obedience to authority or the Protestant work ethic. Thus, the current research suggests new directions for future work on resilience that may not be apparent from either a deductive or an inductive approach. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The Impact of Self-Service Technologies on Cinemagoing Experiences: A Hungarian Case Study

This study investigates the relationship between self-service technologies (SSTs) and cinemagoing experiences. An online questionnaire was created and filled out by 202 respondents to assess their preferences regarding SSTs in Hungarian cinemas. The analysis was conducted in R based on the following factors: gender, age, place of residence, and cinema attendance frequency. The results showed that 78.43% of males and 79.47% of females preferred hybrid systems combining both human staff and SSTs. There was no significant relationship between gender and SST preference. However, respondents aged 26–35 years and those over 50 years were less likely to prefer SSTs. In addition, people who live in capital cities showed a higher likelihood of preferring SSTs. Despite minor demographic differences, the overall results indicate a strong preference for SSTs across all groups. Predictions using ordinal logistic regression suggest that future cinemagoers will continue to prefer SSTs, with probabilities ranging from 65.58% to 75.90%. These results can help in understanding the growing acceptance of SSTs in cinemas and suggest that their implementation could be well-received by future audiences.

Gender (im)balance in the Russian cinema: on the screen and behind the camera

The relationship between on-screen and off-screen inequality in film industries and the relative impact of these on movie attendance is widely discussed but not necessarily empirically demonstrated. This article examines the binary gender composition of film project teams and the gendered representation of film characters as factors for cinema attendance. We collected a unique dataset (N=1285) of all films released during the pre-pandemic decade (2008-2019) in Russia – at that time the largest European cinema market. A marked-up subset of 243 films was used to calculate a novel version of the Bechdel-Wallace test that accounts for the proportion of all non-stereotypical dialogues in the film narration, as opposed to the classical binary test. Our test proves very informative, revealing a strikingly high proportion of dialogues with stereotypical portrayals of women even among the films that pass the Bechdel-Wallace binary threshold. We also undertook a social network analysis (SNA) of the characters’ communications. This analysis demonstrate that women predominantly occupy a peripheral position in film plots. Both stereotyping and marginalization of women are positively related to the proportion of men in the film crew, especially in the role of screenwriter. Simultaneously, having more men in key positions is also correlated with access to larger budgets and better distribution, thus effectively impeding films with stronger women characters from wider audiences. These audiences, however, show no prejudice towards films with such characters: after 2015, films featuring central women protagonists have the same level of attendance as movies without them. Although Russia exemplifies a large non-Western cinema market, the trends we identify, particularly the “gatekeeping” effect of male filmmakers, is notably in line with those observed in Western democracies.

La collecte statistique sur le commerce cinématographique entre les États-Unis et l’Europe: une esquisse historique

This article provides a history of the implementation, in the United States and Europe, of collection processes on cinema attendance, on the results obtained by films in terms of admissions or box-office receipts, and on the international trade of films. The contribution shows how the US industry was already from the 1910s concerned with obtaining a statistical portrait of European markets while efforts to set up an integrated European statistical tool, imagined in the 1920s, did not come to fruition. This was only achieved in the 1990s with the creation of the European Audiovisual Observatory and its LUMIERE database.

Comments on media trends in South Africa based on AMPS 1976-1980

In this article, which is based on data obtained from the annual AMPS projects of the SAARF, media trends in South Africa is commented on. It is observed that while the media use among the Coloureds, Whites and Asians is declining (all media except television), blacks show an overall increase in media use. This trend is observed in daily newspaper reading (although there was a slight decrease for blacks in the last year), radio listening, television viewing and cinema attendance, even though it is slight in instances. These trends suggest that reasons have to be determined for the increasing alienation between die media and sectors of the population. In a country where most media are primarily aimed at the whites, these trends also stress the need for media which will serve the interests of blacks.

Socio-political features and prospects for the development of the Russian movie industry through the prism of the history of soviet cinema and international film industry experience

The article is devoted to the Russian movie industry and the problems that national cinema is currently facing. This applies to surface level, urgent difficulties, such as the rapid decline in cinema attendance in the absence of Hollywood tentpoles at the box office, as well as to deeper shortcomings, among them the lack of Russian cinema's own identity. The author describes how the modern system of state support of the movie industry unwittingly leads to a deluge of similar run-of-the-mill movies, which not only negatively affects the total revenue of Russian cinemas, but also does not allow the domestic film market to grow, as well as effectively perform its socio-political functions. Patriotic high-budget blockbusters have become the most demanded type of Russian film production in recent years, the plot of which is based on events from Russian history, told in the language of Western commercial cinema. The rare but nevertheless sound successes of such films have led to the system under which these types of movies receive the lion's share of budget funding. Disregarding the fact that box office data shows that viewers are more often attracted to films of a smaller scale, but about lives of our contemporaries of today and tomorrow. The current situation in the Russian movie industry is compared with the experience of the formation of the Soviet cinema and withe the development of national film industries of China, South Korea and France.

Digitalisation of the flm industry in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

The structure of the flm industry has changed signifcantly over the past two years. The decline in cinema attendance, the activation of flm distribution on digital platforms, the decline in the level of flm production and other reasons have led to a transformation in the production and consumption of audiovisual content. The change of the main content customer has become an important trend in 2021. Online platforms have replaced production and television companies. Neither the personnel nor the infrastructure of the flm industry was ready for such a volume of orders for production from online cinemas. This caused a sharp rise in prices and an increase in the cost of flm production. The industry is actually in crisis. Based on the study, the authors concluded that today state pays quite a lot of attention to the issues of the digitalization of the flm industry. The study notes the strengthening of state control over digital video platforms, a change in the scheme of state fnancing of the industry, the allocation of large fnancial resources for the digitalization of video archives, the introduction of electronic document management in the feld of flm production, flm distribution, in the process of submitting flm copies to the archive, etc. The authors of the article offer a partial solution to one of the main current problems of the industry – the crisis of traditional cinema distribution with the strengthening of digital distribution. According to the study, the participation of the state can also help with it. For example, by strengthening state funding of audiovisual products intended for cinema rental, as well as strengthening support for cinemas in times of crisis.

Analysis of the factors that determine cinema attendance

New forms of consumption, including online streaming, have interfered with film exhibition, promoting important changes. These services need to generate significant traffic and a look for a wide range of home subscribers to provide them with an extensive catalogue of movies. The domestic confinement in almost all countries caused by COVID-19 has led the internet to break historical traffic records. Cinemas are no longer the only place where a film can be shown. The novelty of films is the main factor that convinces viewers to pay for a cinema ticket. The exhibitor must pursue excellence and offer a truly superior experience at a reasonable price, because of the limited budget for leisure activities. This research uses structural equation modelling (SEM) to carry out an empirical analysis on the results of a questionnaire with a focus on the factors influencing the preference for watching films at a cinema.

Analysis of the factors that determine cinema attendance

Analysis of the factors that determine cinema attendance

Theatrical cinema in South Africa: The Parasite within, South Korea as a model for survival

The 2019 Oscar winner, Parasite attracted millions to South Korean cinemas even before its success in Hollywood. Nigerian cinema is also growing, with local movies topping the theatrical box office and new cinemas being built. Meanwhile, in South Africa, feature film production and cinema attendance are declining without significant transformation of access to the means of film production or to distribution and exhibition. Practical propositions, including the implementation of quotas and taxes, are presented as remedies for the survival of South African cinema, particularly in relation to content creation and the expansion of the exhibition infrastructure.

The influence of location-based games on traditional entertainment products

Digital technologies and in particular the prevalence of mobile devices and high-speed mobile data networks enable new entertainment products such as location-based games (LBGs). Due to their requirement for constant user mobility, LBGs have the potential to affect individuals' consumption patterns of entertainment products and can thus change the nature of business in the context of this emerging technology. The objective of this study is to identify and measure whether LBGs' advent has shifted the consumption of other entertainment products and generate insights which can support practitioners with their strategic business decisions. To this end, we analyze the consumption of the most popular entertainment products (i.e., TV, PC-based online games, and cinema) before and after the release of Pokémon Go. Our results extend prior literature and show that the effect of LBGs—as a new type of entertainment product—is not confined to one product category but can affect multiple product categories of the entertainment industry. In particular, our estimation results indicate that LBGs can attenuate TV and PC online games consumption, but enhance cinema attendance.

Concert Hall, Museum, Cinema, and Theater Attendance: What Difference Do Audience Motivations and Demographics Make?

Given the ubiquity of art in almost all human societies, why is it that participation in the arts is so diverse? To address this question, the present study examined demographic and motivational variables as predictors of arts attendance in a sample of 480 participants, and whether any significant differences appear among attendees at different venues. The ordinal logistic regression identified income, entertainment, and art interest as predictors of arts attendance, with income leading to greater attendance at several art forms. Subsequent analyses also unveiled significant differences in demographic and behavioral characteristics among concert hall attendees, museum visitors, cinema goers, and theater audiences. Taken together, these findings illustrate that audience behavior is selective and incited by conscious awareness of a person’s unique needs. From an applied perspective, adequate knowledge of human functioning will enable arts managers to attract new audiences, without neglecting their responsibility towards art, culture, and education.

Forecasting Cinema Attendance at the Movie Show Level: Evidence from Poland

Abstract Background: Cinema programmes are set in advance (usually with a weekly frequency), which motivates us to investigate the short-term forecasting of attendance. In the literature on the cinema industry, the issue of attendance forecasting has gained less research attention compared to modelling the aggregate performance of movies. Furthermore, unlike most existing studies, we use data on attendance at the individual show level (179,103 shows) rather than aggregate box office sales. Objectives: In the paper, we evaluate short-term forecasting models of cinema attendance. The main purpose of the study is to find the factors that are useful in forecasting cinema attendance at the individual show level (i.e., the number of tickets sold for a particular movie, time and cinema). Methods/Approach: We apply several linear regression models, estimated for each recursive sample, to produce one-week ahead forecasts of the attendance. We then rank the models based on the out-of-sample fit. Results: The results show that the best performing models are those that include cinema- and region-specific variables, in addition to movie parameters (e.g., genre, age classification) or title popularity. Conclusions: Regression models using a wide set of variables (cinema- and region-specific variables, movie features, title popularity) may be successfully applied for predicting individual cinema shows attendance in Poland.

Kina na Dolnym Śląsku: rekonesans historyczny

The highest level of cinema attendance in Lower Silesia after World War II was recorded in 1957. It was higher than before the war and lower than during the war. In the years that followed it steadily declined, influenced by global processes, especially the popularity of television. This leads us to reflect on the continuity of historical and film processes, and to look at the period from the 1920s to the 1960s as the ‘classical’ period in the history of cinema, when it was the main branch of mass entertainment. The examples of three Lower Silesian cities of different size classes (Wroclaw, Jelenia Gora, Strzelin) show how before World War II the development from ‘the store cinema [or the kintopp] to the cinema palace’ proceeded. Attention is also drawn to the issue of the destruction of cinematic infrastructure and its post-war reconstruction. In 1958 the press commented that ‘if someone produced a map with the towns marked in which cinemas were located, the number would increase as one moved westwards’. This was due to Polish (post-war) and German (pre-war) cinema building. The discussion closes with a description of the Internet Historical Database of Cinemas in Lower Silesia, which collects data on cinemas that once operated or are now operating in the region.

Cinema Attendance and Cinema-Going Audience in Malaysia

Cinema audiences’ behavior interests both industry professionals and academics. Cinema-going is still indisputably popular form of entertainment in Malaysia. This study discusses cinema-going in the era of omnipresent screens. It aims to verify Malaysians’ cinema going behaviors and the sustainability factors contributing to the Malaysian film industry. The various factors affecting cinema and movie-going behavior would include encouragement, theme, motivation, perception, gratification, and genre. The local filmmaking industry fell into a decline after 2014 based on observation of annual film production. In the context of westernization, this small market presents a challenge for the government in promoting local popular films. With the influx of genre films from abroad, Malaysian cinema is struggling to the hilt to survive. To understand this situation from the perspective of the audiences, this study, using data from surveys conducted in Malaysia in 2018, discusses the fandom of Malaysian cinema, their cinema-going behavior, and the association with their identities.

“Being Inside the Movie”: 1990s Theme Park Ride Films and Immersive Film Experiences

This article examines the influence of ride film attractions on the rise of commercial, mainstream 4D cinemas in the 2010s. While 4D cinema is typically positioned as an innovative response to declining cinema attendance, we argue that 4D cinema has its roots in earlier developments outside the multiplex cinema space and can be traced to a long history of immersive, 4D cinema experiences that offered more sensorially invasive cinematic experiences. While highlighting examples of early attempts to alter the sensory dominance of audiovision in pre-1960s cinema, the primary focus of this article will be the late 1980s, particularly the 1990s. It was during this decade that the film industry, as part of a growing conglomerate media structure, began to experiment with and solidify multisensory cinematic experiences. This form of experimentation, which pushed the boundaries of traditional film viewing beyond a passive form of entertainment, primarily took place in the context of the theme park, which was itself emerging as a major player in entertainment culture.

Social Media Goes to the Movies: Fear of Missing Out, Social Capital, and Social Motivations of Cinema Attendance

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of participation in social media networks on theatrical movie attendance, with particular attention paid to the fear-of-missing-out (FoMO) and social media social capital. Using an online survey (N = 472), it was determined that the direct social utility of the theatrical experience was a better predictor of theatrical attendance than social media FoMO or social capital. However, both bridging social capital and FoMO were predictors of the post-viewing social media sharing of the film experience, with bridging social capital best predicting social media sharing. Furthermore, FoMO did not moderate the relation between bridging social capital and social media sharing, suggesting these traits exert influence on social media behaviors independently. While participation in social networks did not influence theatrical movie attendance, it was an important predictor of social media conversations after viewing, with the opportunity to maintain and build bridging social capital exerting the greatest influence on social media sharing.

The Impact of Location-Based Games on Traditional Entertainment Products

Digital technologies and in particular the prevalence of mobile devices and high speed mobile data networks enable new entertainment products such as location-based games (LBGs). Several LBGs have managed to attract and retain over 100 million active users (e.g., Pokemon Go, Jurassic World Alive); thus affecting mobile consumer behavior and the entertainment industry. The objective of this study is to analyze the impact of LBGs on three of the most popular entertainment products: Cinema, TV and PC-based online gaming using the market introduction of Pokemon Go as intervention. Our results show that LBGs possess a highly disruptive potential for the entertainment industry and can substitute as well as complement other entertainment products. We quantify the impact of LBGs on cinema attendance, TV viewership, and PC online game usage and derive implications for entertainment managers, advertisers, game developers, as well as local stores.

Extinguishing Spotlights: the Uncertain Future of Cinematic Heritage in London’s Leicester Square

London movie theatres have been considered some of the finest palaces to house the moving image. Even the tiles adorning the Northern and Piccadilly lines at Leicester Square tube station depict the iconic film perforations along its platforms. As the focal point of movie marketing, the fetishisation of stars and directors in the numerous film premieres hosted along the red carpets in the square have been recorded and disseminated worldwide via print and broadcast for decades. Today, the huge hoardings (now digitized) still attempt to entice those milling past to venture inside for the latest Hollywood blockbusters. However, as cinema attendance has waned the square has had to respond to the changes in public demand for a wider choice and different kinds of experience. Many of the former cinemas have now been multiplexed; their singular former grandeur stripped in favour of modernist simplicity and choice. Now in a much more worrying trend, parts of the square (including the Odeon West End) are in the process of being fully demolished. Audience demands for variety and spectacle plus industry developments in digital technologies and new trends in experiences such as giant screen formats, 3D films, and more immersive sound have fuelled the need for change to keep up with demand and profit. Using Leicester Square as a case study, this paper will explore the need of cinema holding companies to evolve in an increasing multi-platform era of choice. The question is at what cost to preservation and heritage is this current strategy having on our national and collective cinematic history?