UK FILM

CONSUMPTION
Michelle & James

AUDIENCES
The graph below suggests the demographic who
most commonly watch films at the cinema are
young people aged between 15-24. This figure
has, however, steadily declined since 2011,
perhaps due to the rise in popularity of other
distribution methods (such as online streaming,
which is easily accessible and likely more
convenient for young people). The fact that young
people remain to the largest cinema-going group
further indicates that film producers should target
cinema advertising (for example, posters and
trailers) primarily towards this demographic. If
young people attend the cinema most often, this
means that they will be most exposed to the films
on advert through the use of audience
placement, distributors should be able to
encourage young people to watch new, upcoming
films targeted towards their age group.
On the other hand, the age group with the largest
increase in cinema viewing is those aged 55+. This
could be due to an the fact that people of this
demographic may work less and no longer need to
spend time looking after children, giving them an
increased amount of leisure time to spend on
activities such as going to the cinema.

AUDIENCES
As can be seen within the graph, the
demographic who view films most heavily is
that of 16-24 year olds. This could be a result of
technological advancement making movies
more accessible to young people (for example,
on their phones), as well as the fact that much of
the mainstream film industry is targeted towards
younger viewers. In terms of gender, men are
shown to more heavily watch movies, however
only marginally. This could, again, be due to the
large amount of men and male protagonists
portrayed within the media. The representations
constructed of men are generally positive, which
inevitably acts as a method of increasing selfesteem of male viewers. There has, however,
been a recent increase in the number of positive
female representations within the media, which
could correlate with the increase in female
viewers shown in the graph.

ETHNICITY/DISABILITY
The tables below display the various ways in which different
demographics most commonly consumer films in this case,
focused on ethnic minorities in comparison to white viewers, as
well as disabled viewers in comparison to able-bodied viewers.
Underrepresentation, whilst being more prominent amongst
ethnic minorities, remains prevalent in both instances.

There does not appear to be a

particular form of exhibition which is
most popular amongst any group
instead, ethnic minority and disabled
viewers appear to use all platforms far
less than white or able-bodied
viewers, suggesting that they also
consume films less. This could be a
direct result of the film industry itself,
in which minority groups are
significantly underrepresented,
providing them less identification and
incentive to watch movies.

AUDIENCE PERCEPTION
The statistics below act as an indication of cause for the underrepresentation of certain
demographics within audience statistics. The statements come from people of the groups in
question for example, older women, working class or LGBT viewers allowing them to state the
issues with representation of these characters. This links to Baudrillards theory of Hyperreality,
indicating that such unrealistic portrayals of minority groups lead to the disengagement of viewers
from the same demographic. This suggests that, in order to gain a wider, more diverse appeal,
producers need to ensure their representations of character and events are more also more
diverse and representative of individuals within the groups, as opposed to stereotypes or
conventions.

TECHNOLOGY
The table below, taken from the BFI statistical yearbook, suggests that the most commonly used
method for watching movies was on TV, or on DVD. The use of a TV could include any movies which
are scheduled to be shown, as well as online streaming services (such as netflix) which can be
accessed on most modern televisions. This is closely followed by cinema viewing at 55%, suggesting
that more traditional methods of accessing movies remain relevant amongst modern audiences. For
distribution companies, this means that it is likely beneficial to continue distributing and exhibiting
movies on the platforms mentioned above, as well as on more modern platforms (such as
netflix/amazon prime), which can be accessed, for example, on TV.

OVERALL TREND
As a whole the main source of profit through the film industry would be cinema. This

would be because it charges the most, many people anticipate new films and want to
see them as early as possible.
Throughout the years from 2006 to 2015 there has been a trend showing that the
number of films consumed raises every year, however an outlier is there which is 2014
this may have been a bad year because there was a lack of blockbusters that year, as
blockbusters earn the most revenue. You can see that theatrical is growing which would
mean more money as theatres cost the most money and are bringing in most of the
audiences.
You can see on the graph on the right that physical video retail is significantly
decreasing, this is due to the vast growth of online copies and downloads online which
people can get for free. Digital video is slowly growing this is because it is much more
convenient and is likely to continue to grow through the years.