世論 What Japan Thinks

[part 1] [part 2]

Over a week at the end of August and the start of September, DIMSDRIVE Research looked at movie theatre attendance. 5,180 member of their online monitor panel successfully completed a private internet survey. 43.1% were male, 1.2% in their teens, 17.2% in their twenties, 34.8% in their thirties, 26.9% in their forties, 14.2% in their fifties, and 5.7% aged sixty or over.

In this half of the survey we see that not surprisingly people find the movies in Japan just a bit too expensive. I can understand that, as even when buying the advance tickets, 1,300 yen is a bit much to risk on a movie you may not know too well, and all but the biggest blockbusters are worth the full 1,800 yen price.

I’m not sure about the attending the movies by yourself. Is this frowned upon in Japan? Some sort of black mark on your character?

Q5: How do you research information about upcoming movies? (Sample size=4,015, multiple answer)

Internet	83.1%
Newspaper	30.1%
In-cinema posters or schedules	21.5%
What’s on-style magazine	11.5%
Phone up cinema	9.8%
Free paper	9.7%
Film magazine	6.0%
Friends	4.9%
Other	0.5%
Don’t look up information in advance	1.2%

Q6: What is important when selecting a cinema to go to? (Sample size=4,015, multiple answer)

Close to or easy to get to from home or office	62.8%
Cinema is clean or new	53.3%
Comfy seats	39.9%
Parking available	35.5%
Easy to see the screen layout	28.0%
Rich variety of films on show	27.4%
Large screen	26.8%
Films shown at convenient times	25.9%
Can select seat location	23.5%
Good sound system	20.2%
Close to railway station	19.8%
Rich variety of discounts and offers	19.0%
Cinema surrounded by good facilities	17.9%
Not crowded	16.7%
Exclusive film lineup	15.3%
Just right air conditioning setting	11.8%
Can buy tickets online	11.8%
Has good loyalty program	11.7%
Tasty food and drink	4.0%
Other	1.4%
No particularly important points	2.9%

Q7: Do you go to the cinema by yourself? (Sample size=4,015)

Often	17.1%
Sometimes	33.7%
Never	49.2%

Older people were slightly more likely to go to the cinema by themselves.

Q8: Do you buy movie pamphlets? (Sample size=4,015)

Often	10.4%
Sometimes	34.7%
Never	54.9%

The more often people attened the cinema, the more likely they were to buy a pamphlet.

Q9: Do you hold back the tears when watching a movie? (Sample size=4,015)

Let them flow	43.1%
Hold them back if possible	43.7%
Definitely don’t cry	5.2%
Never felt like crying whilst watching a movie	8.0%

Women were, not surprisingly, twice as likely to blub their way through a movie, with at most only 3% of women refusing to shed a tear. How much of this reflects a difference in emotions versus a difference in preference for movie types is unclear.

Q10: Has your mobile phone ever rung during a movie? (Sample size=4,015)

Yes	4.4%
No	87.9%
Don’t know or can’t remember	2.0%
Don’t have a mobile phone	5.7%

Q11: Why don’t you go to the cinema? (Sample size=1,132, multiple answer)

Too expensive	39.8%
Can watch movies on DVD or video, etc	39.7%
No time to go	31.2%
No cinema close to me	18.5%
No movies I want to see	12.3%
Too crowded	12.1%
Nobody to go with	10.2%
Don’t like movies	9.5%
Can watch on satellite or by internet delivery	9.4%
Can’t rewind or pause	7.5%
Can’t talk during the film	2.1%
Other	17.0%
No particular reason	9.8%

[part 1] [part 2]