Cinemagoing Preference

Daytime Preference

Arabs prefer to watch movies on first/following day of release whereas Asians & Westerners prefer to watch on the following day & the 3rd day after its release.

On weekdays Arabs prefer to watch movies in the late evening (6.00pm -9.00pm) whereas Asians prefer night show (9.00pm-12.00am). 

One in five youngsters prefer to watch early evening show (3.00pm-6.00pm).

On weekends Arabs prefer the night show whereas for Asians it starts early (6.00pm onwards).

Westerners prefer to watch the evening show (6.00pm) onwards on weekdays as well as on weekends.

Time preferences

Arabs watch movies immediately on its release whereas Asians prefer to adopt a wait & watch policy.

Eagerness/Excitement (53%), Fresh appeal/Do not like to hear the story from friends (50%) are the key reasons for Arabs watching movies immediately on its release. Asians on the other hand give more importance to word-of-mouth (50%) and less crowd (40%) to postpone movie watching to 2 weeks from its release.

Genre preference

Narrow genre set amongst Arabs (2 movie types) compared to 3 among Asians and 4 among Westerners.

Action & Comedy are the preferred genres across demographics.

Young Arabs watch action movies with friends/colleagues.

Asians watch action movies with family/relatives.

Comedy movies - no preferences by Nationality between family & friends.

Youngsters prefer to watch with friends.

Cinema Hall Preference

Two in three Arabs prefer to watch movies in a large cinema hall whereas every second Asian prefers to watch it in small cinema halls.

Westerners have no preference for watching movies in a particular type of cinema hall.

Standalone vs. cinema in shopping mall

One in two Arabs prefer to watch movie in a shopping mall.

For Asians and Westerners preference is heavily skewed towards cinema in a shopping mall.

Screen Preference

Arabs prefer multiplex whereas Asians are open to watching a movie in a single movie house.

Source: AC Nielsen