FILM CONSUMPTION IN THE UK

FILMS WATCHED IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS Film remains a crucial part of all our lives. Over half of the nation are watching 6 or more films a quarter, with 1 in 10 watching 25 or more. Overleaf we see how film consumption compares for diverse audiences.

First we see just how important film viewing is today despite the plethora of other ways of spending our leisure time nowadays. This is true too for 16-24s.

Over half the nation are watching six or more films a quarter and over one in ten watch more than 25 films a quarter, which is around two films a week.

Film is for everyone, for males and females of all ages. Film consumption is slightly lower among the over 55s, but still over two in five are watching six or more films a quarter.

AUDIENCE IN FILM Films are for everyone and diverse audiences areeven more into film, with levels of medium/heavyviewing much greater than the national average.The Eastern Europeans and LGB audiences weinterviewed are particularly high film viewers.Older women and working class people are moremainstream, more closely aligned with thenational average, the former being lighter viewersof film. While their viewing is less than that of theother diverse audiences surveyed, film stillrepresents a very important aspect of their lives.So again we see that film is for everyone.This analysis really highlights the need forfilmmakers to consider carefully the needs ofthese diverse audiences. They are an importantsegment of the total market and it is clear fromthe analysis they spend a disproportionateamount of time and money on film. We will go intodetail later on how and why it is important to caterfor their needs and to ensure authentic portrayal,and the potential commercial benefits fordelivering against these needs.

INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCES VIEWING FILM A substantial proportion of the general public feels cinema remains the best place to watch film – and the view tends to be even more likely felt by diverse audiences.Over 2 in 5 of the general public agree thatthe cinema remains the best place to enjoywatching films. This view is most stronglyfelt by the under 45s.Diverse audiences are even moreconnected with film and cinema, ahead ofthe national average. This is particularly truefor the Asian, Eastern European, Black andLGB segments of the audience.Older women (and older people in general)tend to visit the cinema less frequently incomparison, but even so, 2 in 5 say itremains the best place for film. The view ofworking class people is close to nationalpublic opinion, with over 2 in 5 sayingcinema is the best place to watch films.

THE DIVERSITY IN UK AUDIENCES

The biggest differences are by age, where it is very clear to see that younger people are much more likely to be digital and Blu-ray compared to older demographics.1 in 3 16-24 year olds say they have watched a bought Blu-ray film.We also see very high levels of piracy – over 1 in 3 of 16 to 34 year olds have watched a movie pirated downloaded via peer-to-peer sites and software.

WHERE DO THESE AUDIENCES ACCESS FILM

We see the importance of the DVD market and that Blu-ray (BD) still has a long way to go before it can begin to approach the incidence levels of its predecessor.We also see the ever-growing importance of DVR and catch-up TV. And while it remains a minority level, we also see the significance of the online market, both legal and illegal.Nearly 1 in 5 (18%) of the general public say they have watched a pirated film downloaded via peer-to-peer (p2p) networks or downloaded via links spread on blogs/discussion boards and hosted on cyberlockers/file-hosting sites.Overleaf we provide a breakdown of the general public data by demographics.