Polls

Streaming movies on the rise, comedies are America’s favorite genre

| Tom Jensen


Header-poll-results
Raleigh, N.C. –
PPP’s new movie-centric poll finds that 27% of voters say they go to the movie theatre at least once a month, while 41% said they only go a few times per year and 32% almost never do. Overall, 39% of voters said their most popular method of watching movies was simply watching them whenever they’re on TV. 22% said they most often used a streaming service such as Netflix, 19% said they mostly went to the movie theater to view movies, 11% said they mostly used rental kiosks such as Redbox and 8% said they most often rented from a video store such as Blockbuster. Only 2% were willing to admit that their main method of movie watching involved illegally downloading movies.

It isn’t necessarily younger people staying away from the movie theater – 22% of those under age 45 said their main method of watching movies was physically going to the theater compared to 19% of voters overall. Only 17% of those over age 65 preferred the movie theater – 66% said they mainly watched movies on television. 28% of voters under age 45 said they used streaming as their most common movie viewing method – while just 6% of voters over age 65 said the same.

Americans love to laugh: 78% of respondents in our movie poll this week said they have a favorable opinion of comedy movies. Dramas were next with 72%, followed by 67% for romantic comedies. The least favorite was horror with a 22-62 favorable-unfavorable split. 3D movies were low on the list too, with only 26% of respondents having a favorable opinion with 41% unfavorable.

As is cliché, more men said they like action and horror movies and more women said they enjoy dramas and romantic comedies. 57% of men said they like action movies compared to 40% of women, and while 72% of women said they liked romantic comedies, men weren’t far behind – 61% said they did too. Men are much more likely to enjoy horror movies though – 27% said they liked them while just 18% of women said
the same. When asked how important critics’ reviews were when deciding whether or not to see a movie, 50% said they were at least somewhat important, 33% said not too important and 15% said they weren’t important at all.

PPP surveyed 803 registered voters between August 26-28, 2013. The margin of error was +/-3.5%. This poll was not authorized or paid for by any campaign or political organization. PPP’s surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews.

Topline results are below.  Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.

Q1 How often do you go to the movies: once a
week or more, a few times a month, about
once per month, a few times per year, or
almost never?
Once a week or more ………………………………. 4%
A few times a month ………………………………… 9%
About once per month………………………………. 14%
A few times per year ………………………………… 41%
Almost never…………………………………………… 32%

Q2 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of action movies?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 49%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 27%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 25%

Q3 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of romantic comedies?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 67%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 14%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 20%

Q4 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of horror movies?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 22%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 62%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 16%

Q5 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of dramas?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 72%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 11%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 18%

Q6 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of comedy movies?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 78%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 10%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 12%

Q7 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of comic book movies?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 41%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 33%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 26%

Q8 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of animated movies?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 56%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 22%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 22%

Q9 How do you mostly watch movies: do you see
them in the theater, do you rent movies from a
store like Blockbuster, do you rent movies from
a kiosk like Redbox, do you watch movies
using a service like Netflix, do you just watch
them whenever they’re on TV, or do you
illegally download them?
Theater ………………………………………………….. 19%
Rent from a store …………………………………….. 8%
Rent from a kiosk…………………………………….. 11%
Streaming service ……………………………………. 22%
TV…………………………………………………………. 39%
Illegal download ………………………………………. 2%

Q10 How important to you are good reviews when
deciding whether or not to see a movie: very
important, somewhat important, not too
important, or not important at all?
Very important…………………………………………. 20%
Somewhat important ………………………………… 30%
Not too important …………………………………….. 33%
Not important at all…………………………………… 15%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 2%

Q11 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of 3D movies?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 26%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 41%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 33%

Q12 In the last presidential election, did you vote for
Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?
Barack Obama………………………………………… 46%
Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 46%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 8%

Q13 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 9%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 17%
Moderate………………………………………………… 31%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 24%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 19%

Q14 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 52%
Man……………………………………………………….. 48%

Q15 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 39%
Republican……………………………………………… 34%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 27%

Q16 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If African-American, press 3. If other, press 4.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 9%
White …………………………………………………….. 71%
African-American …………………………………….. 11%
Other……………………………………………………… 9%

Q17 If you are 18 to 45 years old, press 1. If 46 to
65, press 2. If you are older than 65, press 3.
18 to 45………………………………………………….. 40%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 40%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%

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