Picturing Spanish Filmgoers: Motives, Barriers And Film Theatres

Findings on European countries show non-uniform decreasing trends of film theatres’ audiences, the decline being more severe in Spain. This research presents a multifaceted perspective of Spanish filmgoers focused on motives for and barriers to film theatres attendance. Two comprehensive scales (motives, barriers) are proposed. First, motives and barriers are optimally scaled with principal components analysis (PCA); and, second, we identify segments of filmgoers with latent class modelling (LC). PCA recommended a five-factor solution for motives (education, film popularity, film quality, social interaction, and mood) and a seven-factor solution for barriers (film offerings, venue’s features, perception, preference and place, substitute activities, financial restrictions, recreation time disposability). LC analysis suggested three segments: mainstream filmgoers who watch films in multiplexes in shopping centers and in the center of the city; art-house filmgoers; and filmgoers who go to film theatres to watch films in original version. The socioeconomic and behavioral covariates complete the profile of the clusters, and the findings are consistent with the existing evidence on film audiences. Increasing cultural participation is the objective of many governments’ cultural policies and a more comprehensive understanding of film audiences can contribute to this.