13/05/2008

The FFA (German film regulating body) has published – in collaboration with GfK (a consumer survey company) – its 16th study, Kinobesucher 2007, on the characteristics and viewing habits of film audiences.

It has been revealed that in 2007 a third of German viewers (32%) made a spontaneous decision to go to the cinema, whereas 13% were only tempted once they got there and studied the programme. Moreover, 92% of viewers were accompanied by others.

Lone cinemagoers are rare, but occasional viewers, who go to the cinema once a year, are however numerous and have contributed to the fall in audience figures recorded in 2007 (125.4m admissions compared to 136.7m in 2006). Six out of ten of the viewers lost in 2007 belong to this group.

The films on offer perhaps failed to interest viewers. In 2007, only 26 titles garnered between 1-6m admissions, whereas the average for the last 15 years is 38. Moreover, these 26 titles include only four German films (two times less than the previous year).

On the other hand, students of all ages cited German titles as among their favourites (notably Til Schweiger’s Rabbit Without Ears). At the other end of the scale, viewers aged over 60 went to see a German film on one occasion out of three in 2007.

There are also more German films shown in theatres with less than three screens (27% of programmed films in 2007) than in multiplexes with over seven screens (17%).

This study is available for consultation online.

(Translated from French)