Nielsen Finds Strong Consumer Appetite for 3-D Films But Weak Awareness

Amsterdam, NL, June 2008- The Nielsen Company today reported that there is strong consumer appetite for 3-D films, based on a detailed analysis that showed a 65% sales increase in theatres using 3-D technology to exhibit their movies

The analysis, which was unveiled today by Nielsen PreView at the Cine Expo conference in The Netherlands, compared the film’s performance in comparable theatres with a proven track record in the action/adventure genre. This like-to-like comparison provides a more sophisticated understanding on the impact of 3-D than other studies that simply looked at the performance of the movie in 3-D and 2-D theatres regardless of their historical ability to attract action/adventure movies.

“With all the upcoming hype around 3-D, we wanted to take a hard look and see if there is truly a consumer appetite for 3-D.” says Ann Marie Dumais, SVP, Nielsen PreView. “Our new research approach contrasted theatres in such a way to demonstrate consumers, when given a choice, will choose 3-D.”

Nielsen PreView’s 3-D study analyzed over 4,000 theatres in the United States. The research found theatres with at least one screen exhibiting in 3-D had a 65% increase in box office sales compared to their 2-D counterparts. Further, those theatres that chose to exhibit in 3-D on more than one screen saw their sales climb yet even higher to 100% versus what was expected, indicating that one 3-D screen per theatre may not be enough to satisfy consumer demand.
(See chart “Box Office Results for 2D and 3D Theatrical Experiences” in Full PDF Download version of release.)

While consumers have an appetite for 3-D films, they often lack awareness and education around what 3-D is and where to find it. In a recent Nielsen survey, 48% were unaware that their movie choices were even available in 3-D. The numbers cited in this study are likely to go even higher for the industry with increased marketing support and consumer education.