Why do the French go to the cinema less often?
– CANNES 2022: The CNC has unveiled the results of an interesting qualitative analysis of the reasons why some French viewers do not return to dark rooms
Cécile Lacoue, director of studies, statistics and forecasting at the CNC; and Magali Valente, head of cinema at the CNC (© Eric Bonté/CNC)
A study, presented on May 23 at the CNC beach during the 75e Cannes Film Festival, was carried out at the beginning of May in collaboration with the company Vertigo, collecting responses from 1,200 people. It is therefore just out of the press, after a return to “normal” attendance in theaters in the absence of any health restrictions, on March 14. Professionals are now trying to understand why, since the beginning of January 2022, cinema release figures have been 55% below those for the same period in 2019. They are also trying to understand which French people have not returned to dark rooms .
Even viewers who have come back are used to going out to the cinema less often than before: 52% of respondents have returned to their old habits, while 48% go to the cinema less often than two years ago.
Young people (15-25 years old) returned fairly quickly to cinemas, while those over 60 years old were more cautious. However, it is the average age group of 25-49 years that has experienced the most dramatic drop: before the crisis, 73% of these people went to the cinema once a year, whereas today this figure is 53%. . A particularly interesting figure is that 7% of respondents abandoned cinemas because they did not have a vaccination certificate.
Asked about the subject, five of the reasons most frequently given by the panel declaring that they go to the cinema less often are the following: they have lost the habit, they refuse to wear a mask at the theatre; ticket prices are too high; they want to see films in other formats; and finally, there is a lack of supply (few or no films they would like to see). However, while the causes linked to health and safety seem doomed to evaporate, the structural causes remain: the price of the ticket is a barrier for the youngest, the preference for VoD offers is strongest among 15-34 years The youngest and those over 60 talk about their lack of interest in the selection of films currently offered in cinemas. When asked which films would actually make them want to return to the cinema, the vast majority of viewers, regardless of age, mentioned comedies.
To sum up, we should certainly celebrate the fact that more than half of the people who responded to this survey flocked to movie theaters again, as they had before the pandemic. It should also be noted that the decline in attendance has posed fewer difficulties for independent and arthouse cinemas, and that France is in a less delicate situation than its neighbors Belgium and Italy. The rallying of all the professionals of the entire cinematographic sector in this regard, coupled with the support of the authorities, should allow the country to successfully overcome this difficult period.
(Translated from French)
