GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- A new Gallup poll looks at Americans' views on movies, including which film they would like to see win this year's Academy Award for Best Picture. Among the five nominees, "The Green Mile" comes out on top as America's favorite, with 29% of the public saying they would like to see it win on Sunday. "The Sixth Sense" finishes second, with 18%. "American Beauty," "The Cider House Rules," and "The Insider" trail with 12%, 6% and 3%, respectively. About one-quarter of the public tells Gallup they have attended no movies in a theater for the past year, and roughly one-third of the public (32%) offers no opinion on the Academy contest.
The public's preference for the "The Green Mile" is notable because more people report having seen "The Sixth Sense." Twenty-seven percent of adult Americans indicate they have seen "The Sixth Sense," compared with 21% who have seen "The Green Mile." Fourteen percent say they have seen "American Beauty," compared to just 8% who have seen "The Cider House Rules" and 6% who have seen "The Insider."
Billy Crystal the Favorite Host; Musical Performances Also
Favored
The poll, conducted March 17-19, also queried the public about its
awards ceremony preferences. When asked which of five past Academy
Award hosts was its favorite host, the public named Billy Crystal
as the runaway winner. Crystal, who will be hosting the show again
this year, was chosen by 38% of respondents as being their favorite
of the five, while another recent host, Whoopi Goldberg, earned 24%
of the public's vote. Bob Hope followed with 14%. Former hosts
Johnny Carson and David Letterman were each preferred by just 8% of
the public.
When asked about the musical format, a majority of Americans, 68%, say the awards show should continue to include live musical performances of the songs nominated in the Best Song category, while just 21% say they should not be included.
Which Stars Have the Biggest Marquee Value?
The popularity of "The Green Mile" may be linked to its leading
man, Tom Hanks. Fifty-two percent of Americans say they make
special attempts to see movies featuring specific actors or
actresses. Of these, Tom Hanks ranks among the top thespians named,
with 19% saying they make a special attempt to see his movies. Only
Julia Roberts tops Hanks in this category, with 22%. Eleven percent
say they make an effort to see Harrison Ford's movies, while 9%
seek out Bruce Willis, one of the stars of "The Sixth Sense." Seven
percent of these star-oriented moviegoers mention Denzel
Washington, who is nominated in the Best Actor category this year
for his role in "The Hurricane." Other stars mentioned include Mel
Gibson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Meg Ryan, Robin Williams and Whoopi
Goldberg.
Gallup's marquee value measure of movie actors dates back more than a half century. In 1981, Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds won Americans' vote as the actors they would make a special effort to see, while Barbra Streisand and Jane Fonda were the top actresses. Four decades earlier, Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable, Bette Davis and Ginger Rogers were the actors and actresses Americans most wanted to see, in a 1941 Gallup Poll.
Increase in Movie Attendance
Seventy-four percent of the American public says it has attended at
least one movie in a theater in the last 12 months. This number is
up significantly from the last time Gallup asked about movie
attendance, in 1995, and represents a continuation of an upward
trend in movie attendance. In 1995, 66% of the public said they had
seen at least one movie in the previous 12 months. This was up from
61% in 1993 and 55% in 1988. There is also an increase in the
number of movies Americans are attending. The percentage saying
they have seen five or more movies in the theater during the
previous 12 months has increased steadily from 29% in 1988 to 44%
in this most recent survey.
Movie attendance is an especially common activity among younger adults. Only 12% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 havenotattended a movie in the last 12 months. Non-attendance increases steadily with age, as 17% of 30- to 49-year-olds and 32% of 50- to 64-year-olds have not attended a movie in 12 months. This percentage swells to 57% among Americans 65 years of age and older.
Younger Americans also attend movies more frequently than older Americans do. In the last 12 months, 69% of 18-to 29-year-olds have attended five or more movies, and 45% of that age group has attended 10 or more movies. These numbers shrink dramatically among those aged 65 and older, as just 20% of that age group has been to five or more movies and 11% have been to 10 or more movies in the last 12 months.
Survey Methods
The results below are based on telephone interviews with randomly
selected national sample of 1,024 adults, 18 years and older,
conducted March 17-19, 2000. For results based on this sample, one
can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error
attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus
3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question
wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can
introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion
polls.
At the Academy Awards ceremony this year, which one of the following movies would you like to see win the Oscar award for Best Picture of the year [RANDOM ORDER: "American Beauty," "The Cider House Rules," "The Green Mile," "The Insider," "The Sixth Sense"]?
Mar 17-19, 2000 | |
---|---|
"The Green Mile" | 29% |
"The Sixth Sense" | 18 |
"American Beauty" | 12 |
"The Cider House Rules" | 6 |
"The Insider" | 3 |
No opinion | 32 |
100% |
Please tell me for each movie, whether you have already seen it, if you haven't seen it but you expect to see it sometime, or if you do not expect to see it at all [RANDOM ORDER: "American Beauty," "The Cider House Rules," "The Green Mile," "The Insider," "The Sixth Sense"]?
Already seen it | Expect to | Don't expect to | NOT SEEN (vol.)/ Don't Know | |
---|---|---|---|---|
"The Sixth Sense" | 27% | 35 | 32 | 6 |
"The Green Mile" | 21% | 44 | 28 | 7 |
"American Beauty" | 14% | 35 | 43 | 8 |
"The Cider House Rules" | 8% | 38 | 44 | 10 |
"The Insider" | 6% | 32 | 49 | 13 |
Thinking back to past Academy Award ceremonies, please tell me which of the following hosts of the Academy Award ceremonies you liked the most. [ROTATED: Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Bob Hope, or David Letterman]:
Mar 17-19, 2000 | |
---|---|
Billy Crystal | 38% |
Whoopi Goldberg | 24 |
Bob Hope | 14 |
Johnny Carson | 8 |
David Letterman | 8 |
MIXED (vol.) | 1 |
No opinion | 7 |
Just your preference, do you think the televised Academy Awards show should -- or should not -- include live performances of each of the five songs nominated for the Best Song of the year in a movie?
Should | Should not | DOESN'T MATTER (vol.) |
No opinion | |
---|---|---|---|---|
2000 Mar 17-19 | 68% | 21 | 9 | 2 |
How many movies, if any, have you attended in a movie theater in the past 12 months?
Mar 17-19, 2000 |
Apr 10-17, 1995 |
Mar 11-13, 1994** |
Mar 12-14, 1993** |
Dec 4-7, 1988** |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
None | 26% | 34% | 34% | 37% | 45% |
1-4 | 30 | 35 | 38 | 35 | 26 |
5 or more | 44 | 31 | 28 | 26 | 29 |
No opin. |
-- 100% |
-- 100% |
-- 100% |
2 100% |
-- 100% |
** QUESTION WORDING:About how many times did you, yourself, go out to a movie theater to see a movie within the past twelve months? |
Are there any actors or actresses whose movies you always make a special effort to see?
Yes | No | No opinion | |
---|---|---|---|
2000 Mar 17-19 | 52% | 47 | 1 |
What are their names? (multiple responses)
BASED ON -- 538 -- WHO MAKE A SPECIAL EFFORT TO SEE AN ACTOR/ACTRESS; +/- 5 PCT PTS
2000 Mar 17-19 | |
---|---|
Julia Roberts | 22% |
Tom Hanks | 19 |
Harrison Ford | 11 |
Bruce Willis | 9 |
Denzel Washington | 7 |
Mel Gibson | 6 |
Arnold Schwarzenegger | 5 |
Meg Ryan | 5 |
Robin Williams | 5 |
Whoopi Goldberg | 5 |
Clint Eastwood | 4 |
Sean Connery | 4 |
Al Pacino | 3 |
John Travolta | 3 |
Meryl Streep | 3 |
Nicholas Cage | 3 |
Robert De Niro | 3 |
Tom Cruise | 3 |
Tommy Lee Jones | 3 |
Jack Nicholson | 2 |
Jean-Claude Van Damme | 2 |
Kevin Costner | 2 |
Kevin Spacey | 2 |
Richard Gere | 2 |
Sandra Bullock | 2 |
Steven Seagal | 2 |
Other | 42 |
No opinion | 4 |
(vol.) Volunteered response