The Surprising Demographic That Sees the Most Summer Movies

Though Hollywood execs may assume that young men are the ones lining up to see blockbusters, Hispanic women over the age of 25 are the most avid summer moviegoers, according to a new study conducted for TheWrap by market research firm C4.

C4 surveyed 1,500 people from various ethnic, gender and geographical backgrounds who see six or more movies per year. Female Hispanics visited the silver screen most frequently, buying tickets to a wide range of movies—from The Fault in Our Stars to X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Hispanic women were just as likely as their male counterparts to have seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier and were more likely to have seen X-Men: Days of Future Past and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Not so for non-Hispanic women, who were significantly less likely (10% or more) to see those movies than non-Hispanic males. Unsurprisingly, Hispanic women were also more likely than any other demographic to see female-oriented movies that attracted more women in general like Maleficent and The Fault in Our Stars.

Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States and make up much of the Hollywood audience: the group bought 25% of the movie tickets sold in 2013 even though they make up only 17% of the total population, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. They go to the movies an average of six times per year, two times more than the average moviegoer.

Recently, Hollywood has taken action to target this underserved group. In June, John Fithian, the CEO of the National Association of Theater Owners said in June. that Hispanic moviegoers are “far and away the most important consumer at our cinemas.” Both Warner Bros. and Universal have hired marketing executives to focus specifically on the Spanish-speaking market.

[TheWrap]