Barriers to Diversity in Film – A Research Review – Aug 07

2.2 Cinema audiences and film releases
Cinema audiences have been declining in the last two years. In 2005,
there were 169 million visits to the cinema, down 3.9% from 2004 (UK
Film Council Statistical Yearbook 2005-06). This further decreased in
2006 to 157 million visits, down by 5% from 2005 (UK Film Council
Statistical Yearbook 2006-07). However, admissions do fluctuate from
year to year and this drop follows fifteen years of growth.
There is evidence that many groups who are under-represented in
other situations do go to the cinema in greater proportions than might
be expected. Audience data show that in 2006 the cinema audience
was roughly balanced between women and men, and minority ethnic
groups were either equally or over-represented. (UK Film Council
Statistical Yearbook 2006-07) Among people over 55, however, one
half never go to the cinema and disabled people are also under-
represented. There appear to be gender differences in the genre of
films which appeal to female and male audiences and certain films
have generated larger than average audiences from particular ethnic
groups. Chapter 4 on audiences provides more detail. However the
portrayal of certain groups is still often based on narrow stereotyped
representation of characters (Campion 2005). There is more about
portrayal in Chapter 5.
Audience choice of films at the cinema has increased in recent years.
In 2006 there were 505 film releases, 8% more than in 2005. These
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