Maoyan Entertainment (“Maoyan” or “the Company”) (Hong Kong: 1896), a leading platform providing innovative Internet-empowered entertainment services in China, released their latest market survey revealing that 84% of China’s movie lovers believe that it is appropriate to return to cinemas in July, as cinemas across the country have been reopening in an orderly manner.
With the gradual opening of cinemas in China since July 20, Maoyan Research Institute conducted its latest survey at the end of July to learn about the recovery of Chinese movie lovers’ offline leisure and entertainment consumption, their willingness to return to cinemas after cinemas reopened, as well as moviegoing experiences in the first week of cinema reopening.
Key Findings:
- More than half of respondents have already resumed 70% or more of their shopping, dining, travel, moviegoing and performance/exhibition watching activities.
- With the gradual opening of cinemas in China, about 74% of respondents expressed greater eagerness to go to cinemas than they had prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- According to the survey, at the end of July about 84% of respondents agree that it is suitable to return to cinemas.
- About 83% of respondents said they were paying attention to news on the cinemas reopening, up from 73% in May and 62% in March.
- Among respondents who went to watch movies in the first week of cinemas reopening, 87% of respondents were satisfied with their very first experience at movie theaters after the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Good reputation and a high rating score was the most important factor for moviegoers to choose a movie to watch in the cinema.
Offline leisure and entertainment consumption has been on the recovery
According to the survey, 70% of respondents have already resumed regular work routines at their offices, and 12% were working on rotating shifts or working from home. The remaining 18% have not returned to work, or have lost their jobs.
Resumption of normal work | Percentage of total respondents |
Fully resumed regular work routines | 70% |
Working on rotating shifts or working from home | 12% |
Haven’t returned to work/lost jobs | 18% |
In terms of offline leisure and entertainment activities, the percentage of respondents who have already resumed 70% or more of their shopping, dining, travel, moviegoing and performance/exhibition watching activities were 84%, 83%, 56%, 54%, and 53%, respectively.
The resumption rate of offline leisure and entertainment activities | Percentage of total respondents | ||||
Shopping | Dining | Travel | Moviegoing | Watching performance/exhibition | |
70% or above | 84% | 83% | 56% | 54% | 53% |
Between 40% and 60% | 11% | 13% | 30% | 33% | 29% |
30% or under | 4% | 4% | 9% | 12% | 13% |
Not sure/NA | 0% | 0% | 6% | 1% | 5% |
More than 70% of moviegoers expressed eagerness to return to cinemas
With the gradual opening of cinemas in China, about 74% of respondents expressed greater eagerness to go to cinemas than they had prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Willingness to go to cinemas compared to your willingness prior to the COVID-19 pandemic | Percentage of total respondents |
Much more eager to go to cinemas | 44% |
More eager to go to cinemas | 30% |
About the same | 19% |
Decreased willingness to go to cinemas | 7% |
Don’t want to go to cinemas at all | 0% |
According to the survey, about 84% of respondents believed that it is suitable to return to cinemas at the end of July, up from June’s 70% and April’s 47%.
Suitability of returning to cinemas at the end of July | Percentage of total respondents | ||
April | June | End of July | |
Very suitable to return to cinemas | 22% | 32% | 33% |
Suitable to return to cinemas | 25% | 38% | 51% |
Neutral | 27% | 23% | 12% |
Not that suitable to return to cinemas | 20% | 6% | 4% |
Not suitable at all | 7% | 1% | 1% |
About 83% of respondents said they were paying attention to news on the cinemas reopening, up from 73% in May and 62% in March. When asked about if there are any cinemas nearby opening, about 88% of respondents said that they were aware of reopened cinemas nearby.
News on cinemas reopening | Percentage of total respondents | ||
March | May | End of July | |
Pay close attention | 25% | 38% | 55% |
Pay attention | 37% | 35% | 28% |
Neutral | 26% | 20% | 8% |
Do not pay attention | 9% | 5% | 4% |
Not interested | 3% | 1% | 4% |
Is there any nearby cinema reopening? | Percentage of total respondents |
Yes | 88% |
No | 6% |
Not sure/Don’t know | 6% |
As to the news on upcoming movie releases, the portion of respondents who were paying attention to upcoming movie releases rose to 82% at the end of July, from 77% in May and 55% in March.
News on upcoming movie releases | Percentage of total respondents | ||
March | May | End of July | |
Pay close attention | 24% | 41% | 58% |
Pay attention | 31% | 36% | 24% |
Neutral | 30% | 16% | 10% |
Do not pay attention | 12% | 5% | 3% |
Not interested | 3% | 1% | 5% |
Online ticketing channels including Maoyan, Meituan, WeChat, and Taopiaopiao were the main sources for cinema reopening news and information, followed by news and information platforms, cinema apps or WeChat official accounts, and advertisements in shopping malls or cinemas, according to the survey.
Sources for cinema reopening news | Percentage of total respondents |
Online ticketing channels, e.g., Maoyan, Meituan, WeChat, Taopiaopiao | 82% |
News and information platforms | 57% |
Cinema apps or WeChat official accounts | 54% |
Advertisements in shopping malls or cinemas | 23% |
Friends/family members discussion | 17% |
Others | 4% |
(Respondents were instructed to select all options that apply)
87% of moviegoers were satisfied with the resumed moviegoing experience after the COVID-19 pandemic
Among respondents who went to watch movies in the first week of cinemas reopening, 87% of respondents were satisfied with their very first experience at movie theaters after the COVID-19 pandemic. To be specific, over 80% of moviegoers were satisfied with movie quality, cinemas’ safety precautions, cinema services and movie schedules.
Level of satisfaction of overall moviegoing experience | Percentage of moviegoers going to cinemas in the first week of cinema reopening |
Very satisfied | 41% |
Satisfied | 46% |
Neutral | 10% |
dissatisfied | 2% |
Very dissatisfied | 1% |
Level of satisfaction | Percentage of moviegoers going to cinemas in the first week of cinema reopening | |||
Movie quality | Safety precautions | Cinema services | Movie schedules | |
Very satisfied | 67% | 63% | 56% | 57% |
Satisfied | 24% | 27% | 32% | 28% |
Neutral | 7% | 7% | 9% | 9% |
dissatisfied | 2% | 2% | 3% | 5% |
Very dissatisfied | 0% | 1% | 1% | 2% |
According to the survey, good reputation and a high rating score (44%), classic movies (38%) and suitable movie schedules (36%) were the most important factors for moviegoers to choose a movie.
Factors considered when choosing a movie | Percentage of respondents who went to cinemas in the first week of cinema reopening |
Good reputation and a high rating score | 44% |
Classic movies | 38% |
Suitable movie schedules | 36% |
Favorite actors/director | 34% |
New releases | 30% |
To accompany others | 18% |
Catchy title | 10% |
Friends/family members recommendations | 9% |
Attracted by promotion materials (poster, trailer, etc.) | 9% |
Others | 7% |
(Respondents were instructed to select all options that apply)
Among respondents who went to cinemas within the first week of cinema reopening, about 40% said they went to cinemas alone, about 30% said that they went together with friends/colleagues/classmates and 12% said they went with their dates.
With whom going to the cinemas | Percentage of respondents who went to cinemas in the first week of cinema reopening |
Going alone | 40% |
Friends/colleagues/classmates | 30% |
Dates | 12% |
Spouses/partners | 11% |
Children | 6% |
Parents | 5% |
Other family members | 4% |
Since movie tickets can only be reserved online for safety reasons, 93% of moviegoers purchased tickets through ticketing channels including Maoyan, Meituan, WeChat and Taopiaopiao. Over 70% of respondents who went to cinemas said they spent less than RMB30 on a movie ticket.
Movie tickets purchasing platforms | Percentage of respondents who went to cinemas in the first week of cinema reopening |
Online ticketing channels, e.g., Maoyan, Meituan, WeChat and Taopiaopiao | 93% |
Theaters’ apps | 5% |
Others | 3% |
Movie ticket price (RMB) | Percentage of respondents who went to cinemas in the first week of cinema reopening |
Less than 10 | 9% |
From 11 to 20 | 26% |
From 21 to 30 | 42% |
From 31 to 40 | 16% |
More than 40 | 8% |
For those who have not returned to cinemas, the biggest reason was lack of interest in the movies on for screening (45%). Some respondents were also concerned about the hygiene conditions of cinemas and strict prevention measures.
Reason of not go to cinemas | Percentage of respondents who have not returned to cinemas |
Not interested in the screened movies | 45% |
concern about the hygiene conditions of cinemas | 15% |
Still in the plans | 12% |
Strict prevention measures such as wearing masks | 9% |
Others | 8% |
Too busy to go to cinemas | 5% |
Will wait till more people go | 3% |
Movie tickets are too expensive | 3% |
The survey was conducted by Maoyan Research Institute among Maoyan users at the end of July. 1,764 responses were collected for the survey.