Roll out the red carpet. It's the time of year when America pays homage to movie magic. The annual array of star-studded award shows began in January with the Golden Globes and the People's Choice Awards, and last weekend the Screen Actors Guild handed out its statuettes. Movie fans nationwide are already planning Oscar-night parties for Feb. 27 to root for their picks.
But in the age of Netflix and home theater systems, are Americans still actually going out to the movies? A December 2004 Gallup Poll* indicates most still are. Sixty-five percent of Americans reported seeing at least one movie in the theater in the last 12 months, which is consistent with the average percentage since Gallup started asking the question in 1988. Thirty percent of Americans said they had not seen any movies in the theater in the last year.
Young Adults Most Active Moviegoers
Overall, Americans attended an average of 4.7 movies in the theater in the last year. But among those between the ages of 18 and 29, that average is much higher, at 7.9 movies.
Attendance averages drop sharply to 4.4 times in the last year among those aged 30 to 49 -- the prime childrearing years. For parents who need to round up a babysitter before leaving the house, the days of going out to a flick may be gone with the wind, especially when they can just as easily, and more cheaply, pop in a DVD at home.
But movie attendance doesn't appear to rebound among adults whose children are likely to have grown and gone. Adults between the ages of 50 and 64 saw an average of 4.9 movies in the last year, only a slight increase from the 30 to 49 group. Even Americans over 65, most of whom finally have the time to see all the movies they please -- and at senior citizen rates -- don't appear to be doing so. Those in the oldest group saw an average of only 2.2 movies in the theater in the last year. Sixty-one percent of people 65 and older tell Gallup they did not see any movies in a theater in the last year.
And as might be expected given rising ticket prices, Americans who earn $75,000 or more annually saw an average of 5.5 movies in the theater in the last year, while those earning less than $20,000 saw just 3.1 movies.
Other Movie Fans
Are Americans unique in their ongoing love affair with the movies? Not really. Canadians went to the theater slightly less often than Americans did in the last year, averaging 4.0 movies in the last 12 months. And just about the same number of Canadians (33%) and Americans (30%) said they didn't go to any movies. Britons, however, lag behind. British adults averaged seeing 2.9 movies in the theater in the last year. Forty-seven percent of Britons said they did not go to the cinema.
*Results in the United States are based on telephone interviews with 1,003 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Dec. 5-8, 2004; and 1,011 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Dec. 11-14, 2003. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. The survey was conducted by Gallup USA.
Results in Canada are based on telephone interviews with 1,004 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Dec. 6-12, 2004. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. The survey was conducted by Gallup Canada.
Results in Great Britain are based on telephone interviews with 1,009 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Dec. 1-21, 2004. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. The survey was conducted by Gallup UK.
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