世論 What Japan Thinks

A recent survey from iShare into going to the cinema by oneself is a bit difficult for me to interpret, especially as I feel there should have been a question on why people go to the cinema by themselves rather than with others.

Demographics

Between the 5th and 10th of November 2009 531 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 59.3% of the sample were male, 34.7% in their twenties, 30.9% in their thirties, and 34.5% in their forties.

Rather appropriately, I’m translating this survey as I’m riding on a train to meet my wife who went to see two movies alone today. Although a lot of foreigners complain about the cinema being 1,800 yen a ticket, if you’re regularly paying that much you’re doing it wrong! Today, for instance, is the first of the month, so all tickets are 1,000 yen each, plus by using the ticket stub in a restaurant in the shopping mall complex we can get a free cake each, plus we have cinema mileage cards so we get both bonus points that can be exchanged for popcorn and finally a see-six-get-one-free system.

Looking at the winter films below, and tying in with yesterday’s survey, a few of them seem to be live-action versions of manga or anime.

Research results

Q1: Have you ever been to the cinema by yourself? (Sample size=531)

	All	Male N=315	Female N=216
Yes (to SQs)	54.8%	50.2%	61.6%
No	45.2%	49.8%	38.4%

Q1SQ1: Do you like going to the cinema by yourself? (Sample size=291)

	All	Male N=158	Female N=133
Love it	22.3%	19.0%	26.3%
Like it	51.5%	56.3%	45.9%
Dislike it	26.1%	24.7%	27.8%

Q1SQ2: What kinds of films do you want to watch when you go to the cinema by yourself? (Sample size=291, multiple answer)

	All	Male N=158	Female N=133
Weepy movies	46.4%	41.8%	51.9%
Heartwarming movies	39.2%	30.4%	49.6%
Refreshing movies	38.1%	38.0%	38.3%
Movies where I can empathise with the characters	36.8%	30.4%	44.4%
Fun movies	34.0%	31.6%	36.8%
Movies that get me going	32.3%	28.5%	36.8%
Movies that make me laugh	30.2%	31.6%	28.6%
Encouraging movies	24.1%	23.4%	24.8%
Heart-rending movies	23.4%	19.0%	28.6%
Other	9.6%	10.1%	9.0%

Q2: Which of the following winter movies do you most want to watch by yourself? (Sample size=531)

	All	Male N=315	Female N=216
2012	13.2%	17.1%	7.4%
Genkai in a Black Company	13.0%	13.7%	12.0%
Nodame Cantabile	10.0%	7.9%	13.0%
Where The Wild Things Are	4.7%	2.5%	7.9%
The Twilight Saga: New Moon	3.2%	1.9%	5.1%
A Tale of Ululu’s Wonderful Forest	3.0%	2.2%	4.2%
Gintama	2.4%	2.2%	2.8%
Yomigaeri on Chi	1.9%	1.6%	2.3%
The Condemned	1.7%	2.5%	0.5%
Abarashiri Ikka: The Movie	0.9%	1.3%	0.5%
Other	3.2%	3.5%	2.8%
Don’t want to see any current releases by myself	42.7%	43.5%	41.7%