BET Networks demystifies the psychology of Black movie goers
New study finds that African Americans have a voracious appetite for entertainment
NEW YORK, N.Y.—BET Networks unveiled a new report that challenges the Hollywood mindset that African Americans only support Black movies and outlines the $6.3 billion buying power of this demographic. According to REEL FACTS: A Movie Goer Consumption Study on average, 81% of the movies seen by African Americans do not prominently feature an African American cast, storyline or lead Black star. The study provides an in-depth understanding of African American movie goers and their consumption patterns versus general market movie goers. The report also states that while traditionally, African Americans do support films in which their own images/likenesses are featured, this group is also just as engaged with mass appeal general market films since the leading criteria for movie selection is based on genre.
“The findings in REEL Facts prove what we’ve known all along, which is contrary to what many studios and marketers think, African Americans are a valuable patron of different genres of film and see the platform of television as an important resource in making a decision in this category,” said Louis Carr, president of advertising at BET Networks. “While African Americans seek content that reflects their lives, the movies consumed are not limited to one type of storyline.”
REEL Facts: A Movie Goer Consumption Study also revealed the top five key characteristics of an African American movie goer:
1. Extreme Movie Buffs – African Americans have no problem making that trek to the movies accounting for 195 million trips to the movie theaters annually. On average, African Americans make frequent visits to the movies (13.4 times per year vs. 11 times per year for general market movie goers*).
2. High Engagement and Receptivity – African Americans see television as the most influential medium to capture their attentions. Top three movie info resources valued highly by REEL Facts respondents: TV commercials (65%), In-theater movie trailers (55%) and Family/friend recommendations (54%).
3. Repeat Viewers – 62% of Black movie goers admit to seeing movies they like multiple times accounting for an additional $513 million in additional revenue to movie studio coffers.
4. Movie Goers Have “Platinum Shine” – On average, African Americans are the most avid movie patrons going to the movies more than 2 times/per month, accounting for a minimum of 28 times during the year.
5. Digital Tekkies – African Americans are digitally inclined and consume heavy amounts of all types of media: 67% own desktop/laptop computers; 62% are heavy online users accessing (11+ hours weekly); 64% are gaming/music video enthusiasts and 37% are heavy TV/DVR viewers.
“REEL Facts, along with our other consumer insights, proves that the Black consumer is not monolithic and that it’s all about engaging content, cultural awareness and satisfaction as high-end consumers,” said Matthew Barnhill, SVP of market research at BET Networks. “The African American community has diverse tastes, an appetite for quality movies and entertainment that can range from blockbuster mainstream action films to African American romantic comedies.”
BET’s REEL Facts confirmed this by asking respondents to name verbatim the last three films seen in the past year. Only three (or 16%) of the top films in 2010-2011 year to date mentioned by Black movie goers featured a predominantly African American cast, storyline or lead black star:
1. For Colored Girls**
2. Big Mamma’s House: Like Father, Like Son**
3. Battle Los Angeles
4. Limitless
5. Green Hornet
6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows
7. Black Swan
8. Red Riding Hood
9. Despicable Me
10. I Am Number 4
11. Inception
12. Paul
13. Roommate
14. Saw 3-D
15. Toy Story 3
16. Twilight Eclipse
17. Why Did I Get Married Too?**
18. Adjustment Bureau
19. Iron Man 2
The research also shows that African Americans choose movies based on genre first and then look at other criteria. According to the report, the genres that African Americans spent the most on at the movie theater are: comedy ($3.6 billion), action adventure ($2.8 billion), romance ($1.6 billion), sci-fi/fantasy horror ($1.2 billion), animation ($1.2 billion), drama ($1.1 billion), mystery/suspense ($1.1 billion) and children/teen/family fare ($835 million).
REEL Facts also found that Black movie goers are young, highly educated, affluent and employed. The study stated that movies are a popular entertainment past time among African Americans and defined the typical African American movie consumer to be:
• Younger – 39% of African American movie patrons are millennials ages 16-24
• Educated – 30% are college graduates plus having obtained a BA/BS or advanced degree
• Affluent – 35% have incomes in excess of $50,000 plus
• Work Force Strong – 52% are employed either full or part time
* General market movie goers include REEL FACTS Caucasian and Hispanic study respondents.
** Denotes film with lead Black actor, cast or storyline with African American themes.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman will receive the American Film Institute's 39th Life Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed by the organization honoring a career in the film industry, the group announced today.
"Morgan Freeman is an American treasure,'' said Howard Stringer, chairman of the AFI board of trustees." Across decades, whether playing a prisoner, a president or God, he embodies a calm authority that demands respect for the character and for the art form.
Donating vital organs such as kidneys is probably one of the most generous gifts a person can give, but African Americans might become a little less giving due to the findings in a study that was recently released by the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
The Journal reported that Blacks who donate a kidney find themselves facing a higher risk of kidney disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes, than Whites who donate.
Jurors heard evidence Tuesday in the penalty phase of the trial of a 23-year-old gang member convicted of gunning down a standout Los Angeles High School football player whom he mistook for a rival gang member.
Prosecutors will be seeking the death penalty for Pedro Espinoza, who killed 17-year-old Jamiel Shaw Jr. on March 2, 2008, while the defense will ask jurors to recommend life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Jamaa Fanaka, born Walter Gordon, on Sept. 6, 1942, was an American filmmaker best known for his 1979 film, “Penitentiary,” and one of the leading directors of the L.A. Rebellion film movement. Fanaka died April 1, from complication of diabetes. He was 69.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A former Palmdale apartment manager who said he was punched, kicked and pepper-sprayed without provocation in a confrontation with sheriff’s deputies received an additional $6,000 in punitive damages in addition to $575,000 awarded two days earlier by the same jury.
The Los Angeles Superior Court panel deliberated for about one and half hours Friday before assessing the damages in favor of Noel Bender and against Deputy Scott Sorrow.
