Popular Movie Audience Analysis-Based on Multi-Dimensional

Yiran Sun

College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China

Keywords: Film Market, Market Demographic Analysis, Preference Behavior Analysis.

Abstract: Based on the background of fierce competition and technological innovation in the film industry, this study

conducted a multidimensional analysis of movie-watching behaviors, preferences and consumption patterns

of audiences of different ages and genders through a questionnaire survey. The results show that women aged

18 to 30 tend to watch movies more frequently, preferring 90–120-minute movies and cinema experiences,

while men prefer online platforms and shorter films. The frequency of movies going has declined overall in

the 31 to 45 age group, but the gender difference is still significant. The data show that young audiences prefer

entertainment films such as romance and comedy, while the elderly tend to in-depth works such as

documentaries. Moreover, consumer behavior and social media engagement show double differences between

gender and age. The research suggests that film production should adjust film types, release platforms and

promotion strategies according to the characteristics of target audiences.

1 INTRODUCTION

In recent years, the competition in the film industry

has become more and more fierce, and it has gradually

developed towards commercialization. At the same

time, due to the continuous progress of scientific and

technological means, filmmakers are forced to invest

in less cost and use more means to present some

fictional scenes that cannot be realized in the real

world. For example: Avatar, Alien, Fantasy of PI, and

the rapid development of streaming media help

movies to have a more sustainable income source, the

development of social media makes the promotion of

movies easier, the publicity effect is more significant,

and the marketing methods of movies become more

diversified. Nowadays, watching movies has become

an entertainment and leisure activity for audiences

under high pressure. At the same time, audiences have

more freedom to choose movies. They can choose to

watch a movie at any time and in any form. This paper

analyzes the choice tendency of different age groups

and different genders in terms of film duration, type

and viewing mode.

The purpose of this study is to show that the film

project should consider the age of the audience, the

choice preference of the film type and the

consumption habit in the aspects of plot design and

marketing activities, to increase the income of the film

project.

2 METHODOLOGY-

QUESTIONNAIRE

The research method of this study took the form of a

questionnaire survey. A well-designed questionnaire

helps to standardize the data, and when the questions

are clearly structured, rigor can improve the validity

of the results. At the same time, the structured

characteristics of the questionnaire are helpful for data

management to reduce differences (Taherdoost, 2022).

In this paper, a total of 78 questionnaires were

collected.

This questionnaire is mainly divided into six parts.

The first part is the basic information statistics mainly

collected age and gender, which is used to analyze the

influence of age and gender on movie-watching

habits, preference types and consumption behaviors.

The second part is movie-watching habits, which aims

to understand the interviewees' movie-watching

frequency, movie-watching method and time

preference. The questions are as follows: monthly

movie-watching frequency, major movie-watching

platforms (movies, streaming media, TV, etc.), movie

length, and main viewing time (day, night, weekend,

etc.) The reason for designing this part of the question

is that viewing habits can translate audience's movie

consumption behavior and trend, and movie duration

preference may be related to the change of the modern

audience's attention span. The third part is the viewing

Sun, Y.

Popular Movie Audience Analysis-Based on Multi-Dimensional.

DOI: 10.5220/0013991900004916

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Public Relations and Media Communication (PRMC 2025), pages 369-379

ISBN: 978-989-758-778-8

369

preference. The purpose of this part is to analyze the

audience's choice preference for film types. Through

the analysis of preference behavior, it is helpful to

understand the influencing factors of the audience's

choice of film type, which is helpful to the formulation

of film marketing strategy. At the same time, the

selection preference of movie types can be cross

analyzed with the basic statistical information to find

the preference difference of different types. The fourth

part is to study the audience's paying habits and their

choice of viewing methods. By understanding

consumers' movie consumption habits through this

part of the problem, film companies can develop

reasonable pricing strategies to achieve more

sustainable income. The purpose of the fifth part is to

investigate the respondents' willingness to participate

in social behaviors for film projects and the influence

of social behaviors on audience's movie-watching

choices. The reason for designing this part of the

problem is that word-of-mouth and social marketing

have an increasing influence on the movie box office,

and understanding the social activities of the audience

can help optimize the publicity strategy and better

return on investment. The sixth part is designed for the

trend evaluation of the film industry, which can

understand the audience's evaluation of the future

trend of the film industry. This question can analyze

the development trend of the film industry from the

feedback of the audience and reflect the audience's

confidence in the development of the film industry, so

that the film company can better adjust the

development strategy.

3 RESULTS

3.1 Viewing Behavior

In the 18 to 30 age group, as shown in Figure 1, female

moviegoers are more frequent, with 61.4% of women

watching 13 movies per month, compared to 57.14%

of men who watch one to three times per month. As

shown in Figure 2, women preferred longer films, with

70.18% choosing films between 90 and 120 minutes.

Men were more likely to watch films of 90 to 120

minutes, accounting for 71.43%. As shown in Figure

3, in terms of viewing platforms, men prefer online

video platforms (57.14%), while women prefer

theaters (52.63%). As shown in Figure 4, in terms of

viewing time, both men and women focus on evening

and weekend, but men's choices are more dispersed,

and women prefer weekend (35.09%) and evening

(33.33%). Overall, female audiences show a higher

frequency, longer film duration and cinema

preference, while men prefer online platforms and

shorter films.

As shown in Figure 1, in the 31 to 45 age group,

male and female moviegoers generally went to the

movies less frequently. All men choose once a quarter

or less, while 66.67% of women watch 13 times a

month, 33.33% choose less frequency, indicating that

women still maintain a certain frequency of watching

movies. As shown in Figure 2, in terms of platform

selection, men's preferences are more balanced, 50%

choose movie theaters and online video platforms, and

women all choose movie theaters, indicating that

women prefer theater experience. As shown in Figure

3, in terms of film length, 50% of men and 66.67% of

women choose 90-120 minutes, which is more

balanced. In terms of viewing time, both male and

female viewers tend to watch movies in the evening

and on weekends, showing relatively consistent

viewing time preferences.

Overall, young female viewers are more likely to

use online video platforms, while young men

maintain a more balanced choice between movie

theaters and online video platforms. The frequency of

viewing is higher among younger women, especially

in the 18 to 30 age group, with women viewing

significantly more movies per month than men. In the

group over the age of 31, both men and women, the

frequency of watching movies is generally decreased,

especially men, significantly lower than women.

Women are more inclined to watch movies of 90 to

120 minutes, and they have higher emotional

involvement in watching movies, which leads them to

have a higher frequency of watching movies and a

preference for longer movies. At the same time,

women are more inclined to watch movies in theaters,

which can provide more rich sensory services, which

also conforms to the trend of women's behavioral

preference (Rathnayaka et al., 2021a). Men, on the

other hand, are less emotionally demanding and tend

to choose shorter or more flexible viewing behaviors

(Sahu et al., 2022).

3.2 Preferences

As shown in Figure 5, in the 18 to 30 age group,

female viewers prefer romantic films and comedies,

73.68% and 85.96% respectively, while men prefer

action films and comedies, but the proportion is

slightly lower. As shown in Figure 6, women pay

more attention to story and word of mouth/rating

when choosing a film, 45.61% and 31.58%

respectively, while men pay less attention to story,

only 28.57%. As shown in Figure 7, in terms of film

sources, 50% of respondents said they had no

preference

for local or foreign films, indicating a

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Alt Text for the figure: This figure reflects the distribution of viewing frequency of men and women in four age groups.

Figure 1. Monthly viewing frequency.

Alt Text for the figure: This figure reflects the distribution of viewing time of men and women in four age groups.

Figure 2. Choice of film duration.

Male aged

18-30

Female

aged 18-

Male aged

31-40

Female

aged 31-

Almost never look

0% 1.75% 0% 0%

Once a quarter or less

28.57% 26.32% 100% 33.33%

One to three times a

month

57.14% 61.40% 0% 66.67%

1 Once a week or

14.29% 10.53% 0% 0%

Male aged

18-30

Female aged

18-30

Male aged

31-40

Female aged

31-40

More than 120 mins

28.57% 24.56% 50% 33.33%

90~120 mins

71.43% 70.18% 50% 66.67%

Less than 90mins

0.00% 5.26% 0% 0%

Popular Movie Audience Analysis-Based on Multi-Dimensional

371

Alt Text for the figure: This figure reflects the distribution of viewing channels for men and women in four age groups.

Figure 3. Choice of viewing platform.

Alt Text for the figure: This picture reflects the distribution of viewing time of men and women in four age groups.

Figure 4. Choice of viewing period.

more relaxed choice. As shown in Figure 8, women

are more likely to get information about movies

through social media, with more than 85 percent

choosing social media compared to 78.57 percent of

men. In terms of viewing locations, women prefer to

watch at home, while men maintain a more balanced

choice between the cinema and home.

In the 31 to 45 age group, as shown in Figure 5,

male respondents have a significant preference for

action movies and comedies, especially action

movies, with a choice rate of 100 percent. Women

prefer documentaries, indicating that as they age, they

tend to choose films with more depth and realism. As

shown in Figure 6, both men (50%) and women

(66.67%) attach less importance to the story. As

shown in Figure 7, in terms of film sources, men

prefer foreign films (50%), while women are more

likely to watch local films (66.67%). Social media use

is higher in this age group, but overall engagement is

lower, indicating that this group pays less attention to

film reviews than younger people. When it comes to

viewing locations, men prefer theatrical movies,

while women are more likely to watch them at home.

Male aged 18-

Female aged

18-30

Male aged 31-

Female aged

31-40

7.14% 0% 0% 0%

Steaming

57.14% 47.37% 50% 0%

Cinema

35.71% 52.63% 50% 100%

Male aged 18-

Female aged

18-30

Male aged 31-

Female aged

31-40

Anytime

14.29% 28.07% 0% 33.33%

Weekend

42.86% 35.09% 50% 33.33%

Night

42.86% 33.33% 50% 33.33%

Day

0% 3.51% 0% 0%

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Alt Text for the figure: This picture reflects the distribution of the types of TV dramas watched by men and women in four

age groups.

Figure 5. Choice of viewing type.

Alt Text for the figure：This picture reflects the factors that affect the viewing choice of men and women in four age groups.

Figure 6. Factors influencing film selection.

Male aged 18-

Female aged 18-

Male aged 31-

Female aged 31-

Other

0% 5.26% 0% 0%

Animated

35.71% 40.35% 50% 100%

Documentary

21.43% 22.81% 0% 66.67%

Horror

21.43% 14.04% 50% 33.33%

Science fiction

64.29% 45.61% 100% 66.67%

Comedy

78.57% 85.96% 100% 66.67%

Romance

50.00% 73.68% 0% 33.33%

Action

78.57% 45.61% 100% 67%

Male aged 18-

Female aged

18-30

Male aged 31-

Female aged

31-40

Special effects

7.15% 0% 0% 0%

Word of mouth

28.57% 31.58% 0% 0%

Genre

14.29% 10.53% 50% 0%

Story

28.57% 45.61% 50% 66.67%

Director

0.00% 0.00% 0% 0.00%

Actor

21.43% 12.28% 0% 33%

Popular Movie Audience Analysis-Based on Multi-Dimensional

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Alt Text for the figure: This picture reflects the distribution of film and television sources watched by men and women in

four age groups.

Figure 7. Film source region.

Alt Text for the figure: This picture reflects the distribution of channels for men and women in four age groups to watch

movies and TV.

Figure 8. Understanding channel of film evaluation.

Overall, young respondents preferred more

entertaining films, while as they grew older, their

preferences shifted to more in-depth films, and

gender differences were more obvious in different age

groups. Story is the most important factor in all age

groups, but especially in younger age groups. Young

people have less preference for specific films, while

the gender difference of the elderly is more prominent

in the choice of local and foreign films, with men

preferring foreign films and women preferring local

films. Younger women used more varied approaches

to getting film reviews, while older respondents were

more aloof. Younger audiences prefer to watch

movies at home, while middle-aged men are more

interested in cinema. Social media is an important

factor influencing the film selection of young

audiences, especially female audiences are more

dependent on social media for information (Rubin et

Male aged 18-

Female aged

18-30

Male aged 31-

Female aged

31-40

No preference

50.00% 54.39% 50% 33.33%

Foreign films

21.43% 15.79% 50% 0.00%

Local films

28.57% 29.82% 0% 67%

Male aged

18-30

Female

aged 18-30

Male aged

31-40

Female

aged 31-40

Other

0% 1.75% 0% 0%

Professional movie

reviews

28.57% 26.32% 0% 33.33%

Friend

recommendations

50% 42.11% 0% 33.33%

Movie trailers

14.29% 52.63% 50% 33.33%

Social media

78.57% 85.96% 50% 0.00%

Rating sites

64.29% 68.43% 0% 67%

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al., 2022). Young women prefer romantic movies and

comedies, while men prefer action movies. At the

same time, the audience's preference for film types of

changes with the growth of age. The young audience

is more inclined to entertaining movies, while the old

audience is more inclined to documentaries and more

in-depth movies. Young audiences are more likely to

watch movies at home (Tontini et al., 2022).

3.3 Consumption Patterns

In the age group of 18 to 30 years old, as shown in

Figure 9, women's willingness to pay is slightly

higher than that of men, 59.65% and 57.14%

respectively, and women prefer to pay 0-40 yuan. As

shown in Figure 10, women are more engaged on

social media, with 66.67% occasionally participating

in discussions, while men share occasionally at

78.57%. As shown in Figure 11, both sexes rely on

social media comments, 64.29% for men and 59.65%

for women. As shown in Figure 12, women are more

enthusiastic about participating in the film

community than men (78.95% vs. 64.29%). In

addition, as shown in Figure 13, women have a higher

level of confidence in the market, with 50.88% of

women being optimistic compared to 42.86% of men.

In the age group of 31 to 45, as shown in Figure 9

the willingness of men and women to pay is 50% and

66.67%, respectively, and most of them choose to pay

0-40 yuan. As shown in Figure 10, men completely

choose to participate in social media discussions

occasionally, while women participate 66.67% often

and 33.33% occasionally. As shown in Figure 11,

men and women are less dependent on social media

comments, with 50% of men and 66.67% of women

referring to them occasionally. Overall, participation

in the film community in the 31 to 45 age group is

extremely low, and regarding the perspective on the

film market, as shown in Figure 13, all men choose

"average," while 33.33% of women are optimistic.

Alt Text for the figure: This picture reflects the willingness of men and women of four age groups to pay for watching movies.

Figure 9. willingness to pay extra fees.

Male aged 18-30

Female aged 18-

Male aged 31-40

Female aged 31-

42.86% 40.35% 50% 33.33%

Yes

57.14% 59.65% 50% 67%

Popular Movie Audience Analysis-Based on Multi-Dimensional

375

Alt Text for the figure: This picture reflects the distribution of men's and women's willingness to share with others after

watching movies in four age groups.

Figure 10. Willingness to participate in community discussions after watching a film.

Alt Text for the figure: This picture reflects the situation that men and women of four age groups are influenced by movie-

watching comments.

Figure 11. The degree of influence of social media comments on movie-watching intention.

Alt Text for the figure: This picture reflects the distribution of male and female participation in film and television interaction

in four age groups.

Figure 12. The willingness to participate in the interaction of the film community.

Male aged

18-30

Female

aged 18-

Male aged

31-40

Female

aged 31-

Never

0.00% 15.79% 0% 0.00%

Occasionally

78.57% 66.67% 100% 33.33%

Often

21.43% 17.54% 0% 67%

Male aged

18-30

Female aged

18-30

Male aged

31-40

Female aged

31-40

Never

0.00% 3.51% 50% 0.00%

Occasionally

35.71% 36.84% 50% 66.67%

Often

64.29% 59.65% 0% 33%

Male aged 18-

Female aged

18-30

Male aged 31-

Female aged

31-40

64.29% 78.95% 100% 100.00%

Yes

35.71% 21.05% 0% 0%

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Alt Text for the figure: This picture reflects the views of men and women of four age groups on the development of movies.

Figure 13. The recognition of the development prospects of the film market.

Overall, younger age groups (18 to 30 years old)

are more open to paying extra, while older age groups

are more resistant. Younger viewers are more likely

to engage in social media discussions, and young

women are the most active in sharing film

recommendations. Younger people, especially

women, rely more on social media reviews to make

decisions about watching movies, while older groups

rely less on those reviews (Rubin et al., 2022).

Participation in film-related communities is

dominated by young women, with less participation

from other age groups and genders. Young women

are optimistic about the film market, while men and

middle-aged people are more conservative.

4 DISCUSSION

4.1 Implications for Producers

The choice of film genre can be optimized for

different ages and genders. Female audiences aged 18

to 30 prefer romantic films (73.68%) or comedy films

(85.96%), while male audiences prefer action films.

Women aged 31 to 45 prefer documentaries, while

men still prefer action films. Therefore, youth love

films and urban romance films should mainly target

the market of women aged 18 to 30, increasing

women's communication potential to narrative,

emotional resonance and social communication.

Action films focus on the core male market but can

add more plot depth and character development to

suit the needs of men over 30. At the same time, pre-

heated content is released on social media in advance

to encourage UGC communication, enhance audience

participation on social platforms, strengthen word-of-

mouth management on social media, and actively

respond to audience feedback to increase audience

interaction experience and improve audience

communication. Social interaction can not only

increase the audience's willingness to buy tickets but

also promote spontaneous communication and

enhance the film market influence. When a film has

both high personal interaction and active social

interaction, it performs better at the box office

(Castillo et al., 2021).In the highly competitive

schedule, star effect can be more effective in

attracting audiences, but eWOM transmission will be

limited, while in the film click, word-of-mouth

marketing has a greater impact on the long-term

performance of the film (Fan et al., 2021). Big-budget

films should choose a more competitive schedule,

maximize the exposure of star effect, and attract

young people to watch movies, while feature films or

documentaries can choose to be released in

standalone, use eWOM communication to achieve

long-term box office revenue, and at the same time,

accurately deliver to different audience groups.

4.2 Implications for Platforms

For online movie viewing platforms, data-driven

content recommendation capabilities should be

improved, and personalized movie recommendations

should be made by analyzing user behavior to

enhance user experience satisfaction. For example,

Netflix user data analysis strategy: Netflix relies on

user behavior consideration, such as viewing time,

completion rate, etc., to optimize personalized

recommendations and carry out unique

recommendation cover design (Wayne, 2021).At the

same time, a selective transparency strategy should be

adopted to regularly promote the most popular movie

and series data, so as to increase user trust in the

platform and promote social communication. For

Male aged

18-30

Female

aged 18-30

Male aged

31-40

Female

aged 31-40

Not sure

0% 1.75% 0% 0%

Not very optimistic

7.14% 5.26% 0% 0.00%

Moderate

50.00% 42.11% 100% 66.67%

Very optimistic

42.86% 50.88% 0% 33%

Popular Movie Audience Analysis-Based on Multi-Dimensional

377

example, Netflix has gradually begun to selectively

promote the data of some popular works in recent

years to attract more users to subscribe (Wayne,

2021). But the theater experience still has advantages,

but it needs to increase the strategy to compete with

streaming media. Research shows that despite the

growing popularity of streaming, the social nature of

the immersive experience in theaters remains a strong

competitive advantage (Tontini et al., 2022).

Therefore, theaters should further enhance the

difficult immersive devices, such as adding IMAX,

Dolby Atmos, 4K and other technologies, to attract

users willing to pay for a high-quality movie-

watching experience. At the same time, the

integration strategy of online and offline is the main

trend in the future. Audiences have improved their

acceptance of diversified movie-watching modes, and

more and more audiences switch between theaters

and media platforms, so as to choose a more suitable

way for themselves (Tontini et al., 2022). At the same

time, the movie-watching platform can cooperate

with the theater lines to pay for a mixed model of on-

demand and theatrical premieres to meet different

user needs.

4.3 Marketing Strategies

The official government should reasonably combine

part of the promotion power of social media. The

official social media activities of a movie can

improve the intention of buying tickets by changing

the audience's attitude, while the third party can

improve the intention of buying tickets by attracting

the audience's attention and promoting a positive

attitude. Meanwhile, under the same marketing

intensity, local movies will have better marketing

effect when they are released in popular holidays,

which further affects the audience's payment. At the

same time, the central path of social media promotes

rational purchasing decision, while the peripheral

path influences purchasing behavior through social

identity (Liao & Huang, 2021). The consumption

intention of the movie audience has an intermediary

effect on the box office, that is, social media activities

affect the increase of the audience's consumption

intention and lead to the increase of the box office.

However, the official promotion of social media

should decide the scope, intensity and method of

promotion according to the release time and the life

cycle of the product. Social media marketing has a

non-linear effect before and after the movie is

released, and excessive marketing may lead to the

audience's doubts about the quality of the movie and

reduce the final purchase willingness (Sun et al.,

2020).

5 CONCLUSION

This paper makes a multidimensional analysis of

moviegoers by means of questionnaires, including

movie-watching preference, movie consumption

behavior, viewing behavior, audience's willingness to

spread movies and episodes, and audience's

development of the film industry. Through the

investigation, it is concluded that audiences of

different ages and genders have significantly different

preferences for movies, so it is suggested that film

producers design different types of movies according

to audiences of different age groups, design more film

and television and screening modes, and achieve

targeted offline screening and online promotion, and

make good use of social media to attract audiences to

further marketing and sharing of films and TV series.

There are still some objective problems in this study,

such as insufficient distribution of questionnaires,

small sample size, resulting in errors in data analysis,

and too single age level of research objects, resulting

in insufficient objective research results. This study

can be further improved, the sample size should be

increased, and the way and scope of questionnaire

delivery should be broadened.

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