The motivation to attend a cinema, and the opportunities for doing so, varies considerably from group to group. Apart from being regular attenders these individuals are often the opinion leaders who influence other less committed people to attend.
The categorisation by ‘attitudes’ seeks to identify the small but highly important group of enthusiastic cinemagoers. The ‘lifestage’ categorization draws attention to the elements of the cinema-going experience that each group seeks – popcorn, comedy and thrills for the teenage audience contrasting with a bar drink and a quality film for 40+ year old adults. Research by the All Industry Marketing (AIM) Committee for the UK cinema industry has proposed two new audience segmentation schemes. The cinema industry categorises audiences in many different ways but often relies on an age-related scheme which closely follows the film certification categories (U, PG, 12A, 15, 18): This requires skill and showmanship on the part of the cinema manager and staff in addition to a well designed building. Local cinemas have to be capable of adapting to whatever is currently in the news and available to them.
Many cinemas now have a regular slot for this audience and operate it like a ‘club’ to encourage repeated visits. Films for the younger age groups are important for local cinemas and may attract sell-out audiences for morning or matinée performances, especially at weekends and during school holidays. Often they are accompanied by parents or relatives. Young children enjoy cinema going. Sometimes they attend with a group of friends. Young people, although still the multiplexes mainstay audience, are increasingly consuming film online through downloading or streaming services.įilms based on literary works or specific aspects of social history or parts of the country are often well received by local audiences who prefer cinemas with comfort, character and the opportunity to have a coffee or a bar drink.
In recent years the 45+ age group has become one of the largest growth markets in UK cinemas with films such as The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel with more mature characters and strong storylines aimed at a multi-generational market. These films appeal more to 30+ year olds and can prove to be very popular with particular audiences in individual cinemas. In contrast a large number of high quality, independent and foreign language films are released annually but invariably they earn much less at the box office. ‘Event’ films are shown widely at multiplex cinemas but often perform poorly in local independent cinemas when shown a few weeks after the initial high profile release although some people will be prepared to wait if they have seen the film trailered at a favourite cinema. They provide a disproportionately large amount of a cinema’s annual income and they generally appeal strongly to the youth audience (16-24 year olds). These are mass appeal films created at huge cost and supported by massive marketing effort. These films such as the new James Bond, the latest Disney family feature and other big action titles such as the Marvel films or ‘sagas’ such as Twilight and The Hunger Games, are the bedrock of commercial cinema. Each year a small number of new release films, 6-10 titles, become ‘events’.
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