Maoyan Survey Finds Portion of China Movie Lovers Eager for Return to Cinemas Rose to 72%

BEIJING, April 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Maoyan Entertainment ("Maoyan" or "the Company") (Hong Kong: 1896), a leading platform providing innovative Internet-empowered entertainment services in China, and China Film Association jointly released a new market survey, which found that the portion of China's movie lovers eager to return to cinemas when they reopen following the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic has risen to 72% over the past month.

The latest survey was conducted by China Film Association and Maoyan Research Institute at the end of March to learn the impact of the pandemic on people's lives, their willingness to return to movie theaters after reopening, and key factors that would drive movie lovers to go back to cinemas. The portion of movie lovers keen to return to cinemas marked an expansion from about 54% in the February survey.

Key Findings:

• About 72% of respondents were eager to return to cinemas after they reopen, up from 54% in February.
• About 66% of respondents have resumed normal work routines at their offices, while 26% were working on rotating shifts or working from home.
• About 33% of respondents expected a significant income decline in 2020 caused by COVID-19.
• About 62% of respondents said they were paying attention to news on the reopening of cinemas in the country, and 55% said they were interested in learning about upcoming movie releases.
• Implementing strict precautionary measures, ticket discounts, and the quality of new movies were identified as key factors that will attract the audience back to cinemas.

Impact of the pandemic

According to the survey, 66% of respondents have already resumed normal work routines at their offices, and 26% were working on rotating shifts or working from home. The remaining 8% have not returned to work, or have lost their jobs.

In terms of offline leisure and entertainment activities, about 61% of respondents said they have already resumed 70% or more of their normal shopping activities, while 47% said they have resumed 70% or more of their dining and eating-out activities.

About 65% of respondents expected their income to decline in 2020, including about 33% expected a significant income decline this year caused by COVID-19.

Due to the expectation of reduced income, most respondents were becoming more cautious about leisure and entertainment spending this year. The percentage of respondents who expected a significant spending cut in their dining, movie going, and travel activities were 26%, 33%, and 35%, respectively.

Willingness to return to cinemas

Based on the March survey, respondents watched six movies on average at home through online streaming platforms, one less than in February. About 73% of respondents said they had experience of paying for watching movies online.

About 72% of respondents were willing to return to cinemas after they reopen, the survey found.

About 62% of respondents said they were paying attention to news on the reopening of cinemas in the country, and 55% said they were interested in learning about upcoming movie releases.

Key factors to attract the audience back to cinemas

After cinemas reopen, nearly 60% of respondents said that strict precautionary measures in movie theaters would be the primary factor for them to return to cinemas, followed by ticket discounts offered (58%), and the quality of new movie releases (40%).

When asked about their preferred movie ticket price, over 80% of respondents preferred ticket prices under RMB30. According to the survey, most respondents believed that movie theaters should limit ticket sales and keep their capacity under 40% after they reopen.

As to what types of movies they would definitely go to watch after cinemas reopen, 55% of respondents chose new movies with positive word-of-mouth.

 "The Wandering Earth", "Wolf Warrior 2" and "Better Days" were the top classic domestic movies preferred by respondents. "The Avengers" series, "Léon: The Professional" and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" were most-wanted classic foreign movies.

The survey was conducted at the end of March. Users who purchased movie tickets on Maoyan's platform were targeted and 1,530 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: online ticketing platform, products and services platform, data platform, marketing platform, and funding platform.

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Jeff Pei
ICR Inc.
Email: Jianfeng.Pei@icrinc.com
Tel: +86 (10) 6583 7514