Survey shows high ticket prices and poor film selections causing some to think twice about heading out to catch the latest blockbuster
There?s nothing quite like watching a film on a giant screen ? but as home theaters become more and more common (and affordable), should theater owners be worried? Nearly half (45%) said that, while they still go to the movies, their movie attendance has decreased from five years ago ? 27% said it is much less, and 9% said they never go to the movies anymore, a recent Zogby Interactive poll shows.
As Hollywood struggles with a years?long box office plunge, Zogby finds that those age 25-34 are most likely to say their attendance has decreased over the past five years ? and the oldest respondents (age 70 or older) are most likely to say they no longer go to the movies at all (23%). The survey, which focuses on the ever-changing entertainment habits of Americans, is featured in the February issue of Zogby?s American Consumer newsletter, now available at
www.zogby.com.
Slightly more than a third (36%) say their movie attendance is about the same as it was five years ago. Overall, just 10% say their movie attendance has increased during that period of time ? those age 18-24 are most likely to say their movie attendance has increased ? 16% said they attend more now than they did five years ago. The Zogby Interactive poll of 10,145 adults nationwide was conducted Jan. 26-29, 2007, and contains a margin or error of +/- 1.0 percentage points.
High ticket prices (30%) and a dislike for the movie selections (30%) are the top reasons given for falling movie attendance ? 13% said they don?t like the crowds in the theater. Those age 18-24 are most likely to complain about costly tickets ? nearly half (46%) said high ticket prices have kept them away from the theater. Among older adults, dissatisfaction with the film selections is the main deterrent ? 46% of those age 65 or older said this.
More than a third (37%) of respondents said they go to the movies fewer than six times per year ? 21% said they don?t even make it to the movies once a year. Overall, 10% said they never go at all. The youngest adults in our survey (those age 18-24) are most likely to say they go to the movies several times per month (9%) ? this age group leads all others among those who said they go to the movies between 6 and 12 times per year. Attendance numbers decline among increasingly older respondents, the Zogby Interactive survey shows.
Surroundings Trump Surround Sound
Theaters may offer massive screens and superior surround sound systems to movie-goers, but most would rather stay in their comfy confines home and watch DVDs, the survey showed. The majority (63%) said they would rather have free unlimited DVD rentals with no late fees for a year than a year?s worth of free unlimited movie passes (30%). Those who live in large cities ? and most likely have access to better theaters and more films ? were more likely to choose the movie passes than those living in less populated areas. More than a third (37%) who live in cities favor unlimited movie passes, compared to 23% who live in rural areas. Rural respondents without access to as many theaters and films were much more likely to choose the DVD rentals ? 71% picked the DVDs compared to 58% who live in large cities.
DVDs again beat out movies by a wide margin when people were given the choice between 100 free DVDs of their own choosing (71%) or 100 free movie passes (24%). Women (26%) were slightly more likely than men (22%) to favor 100 free movie passes, while nearly a quarter (72%) of men and (69%) of women would choose the DVDs.
To get your own copy of this month?s Zogby?s American Consumer newsletter, go to:
http://www.zogby.com/consumer/2007/FEB/index.cfm
To see a detailed methodological statement, please visit:
http://www.zogby.com/methodology/readmeth.dbm?ID=1168
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