世論 What Japan Thinks

infoPLANT recently published the results of an opinion poll they conducted into watching movies. Over a week at the start of September they published an open survey through the DoCoMo iMode menu system, where they gathered the views of 5,963 self-selected people, 65.5% female.

I manage to get to the cinema about once a month on average, although I’ve got about four or five coming up this month that wifey is dragging me to I’m all too happy to attend with wifey. Yesterday I went to see Lady in the Water, which would have been a good Twilight Zone episode, but as a movie…

In Japan, the average ticket price outside the rare multiplexes is ¥1,800 (cheaper for the last show), but at least popcorn and drinks are reasonably priced. However, if you go, always try to buy the advance tickets, usually ¥1,300, and they often come with a free present, which I must try to flog off on e-Bay one day. Anyone want to make me an offer for five World Trade Center candles complete with brass-effect plastic stand?

Since I’m mentioning cinema prices, the other two main ways to save money are to go on the first of the month when prices are just ¥1,000, but of course everything sells out quickly, or if you’re of the female persuasion, most cities have a ¥1,000 Ladies’ Day once a week. Movix Rokko tries to balance things out with a Men’s Day at the same price.

Q1: How do you watch movies? (Sample size=5,963, multiple answer)

	All	Male N=2,055	Female N=3,908
Rental DVD or video	64.4%	60.3%	66.5%
Ordinary cinema	61.1%	52.7%	65.5%
Terrestrial television	49.6%	52.7%	48.0%
Purchased DVD or video	28.2%	32.4%	26.0%
Multiplex cinema	26.4%	26.3%	26.4%
Satellite, cable, or other pay television	12.0%	13.5%	11.3%
Don’t watch movies	1.2%	1.7%	0.9%

Note there was no option for downloaded contents.

Q2: What genres of films do you watch? (Sample size=5,892, multiple answer)

	All	Male N=2,021	Female N=3,871
Action	60.6%	75.5%	52.9%
Japanese movies	59.3%	58.3%	59.8%
Comedy	52.7%	45.6%	56.5%
Animation	52.2%	46.8%	55.1%
Love story	50.1%	32.6%	59.3%
Science fiction	47.4%	63.0%	39.2%
Suspense, mystery	45.0%	42.5%	46.3%
Human drama	35.2%	29.3%	38.3%
Horror	25.1%	26.0%	24.6%
Others	1.5%	1.5%	1.4%

I’m surprised by more women watching animation, and the little difference between male and female figures for watching horror. Looking at the more detailed age breakdown, one interesting figure is for female viewing of love stories: it starts out at 68.8% for teenagers, then steadily decreases until reaching 42.6% for the over fifties. One gets the impression from the media that middle-aged women are all watching Korean love stories, but this image does not seemed to be backed up by the survey.

Q3: From where do you obtain movie-related information? (Sample size=5,892, multiple answer)

	All	Male N=2,021	Female N=3,871
Television	88.8%	84.5%	91.1%
Magazines	65.2%	62.9%	66.4%
Mobile phone internet sites	32.3%	32.8%	32.1%
Newspapers	32.0%	34.2%	30.9%
Word of mouth	31.3%	24.6%	34.8%
PC internet sites	23.6%	28.0%	21.3%
Railway station or in-train advertisements	15.8%	15.0%	16.2%
Radio	10.0%	14.0%	8.0%
Other	7.5%	7.4%	7.5%

Q4: In the last year, how many films have you watched at a cinema? (Sample size=5,892)

	All	Male N=2,021	Female N=3,871
One or two	26.2%	27.7%	25.4%
Three to five	28.0%	24.4%	29.9%
Six to eight	11.5%	10.7%	11.9%
Nine to eleven	5.6%	4.6%	6.2%
Twelve to fifteen	3.7%	3.4%	3.9%
Sixteen or more	6.1%	6.4%	6.0%
None at all	18.9%	22.9%	16.8%

Q5: Who do you go to the cinema with? (Sample size=5,892, multiple answer)

	All	Male N=2,021	Female N=3,871
By myself	29.8%	36.2%	26.5%
With friends	47.8%	31.7%	56.2%
With boyfriend or girlfriend	29.3%	27.5%	30.2%
With parents	9.3%	1.9%	13.2%
With brothers or sisters	9.3%	3.1%	12.6%
With spouse	24.5%	25.1%	24.2%
With others	11.2%	8.7%	12.5%
Don’t go to the cinema	6.9%	10.6%	5.0%

Over two in five over-fifty men go to the cinema on their own, versus just under one in five who go with friends. However, almost two in five go with their wives, although only a quarter of women over fifty said they went with their husbands!