Maoyan: 84% of China Movie Lovers Agree That Returning to Cinemas in July is Appropriate

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Aug 14, 2020, 01:49 ET

BEIJING, Aug. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- 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
Suitability of returning to cinemas at the end of July	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
News on cinemas reopening	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
News on upcoming movie releases	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
Level of satisfaction	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.

About Maoyan Entertainment

Maoyan Entertainment (Hong Kong: 1896) is a leading platform providing innovative Internet-empowered entertainment services in China. Since its inception, Maoyan has grown from an online movie ticketing service provider to an innovative one-stop platform for entertainment services. Maoyan has a comprehensive strategy to become a leading platform servicing the entire entertainment industry in China. The upgraded strategy is supported by five key platform pillars: comprehensive entertainment ticketing platform, products platform, data platform, marketing platform, and financing platform.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Edmond Lococo
ICR Inc.
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +86 138-1079-1408

SOURCE Maoyan Entertainment