A recent study by the Korean Film Council reveals a shift in movie-watching habits. The annual survey on movie content consumption trends, released earlier this month, indicates that 45.8% of respondents have decreased their visits to local movie theaters compared to the previous year. This includes 16.5% who reported a “significant” reduction and 29.3% noting a “moderate” decline.
Conversely, 42.1% of those surveyed stated their theater attendance remained relatively stable, while 12.1% reported an increase in cinema visits.
The survey, conducted in October of last year, polled 3,000 individuals aged 14-69 who had watched at least one movie either in a cinema or through streaming services between October 2024 and September 2025.
When asked about the reasons for reduced theater visits, cost emerged as the primary factor for 25.1% of respondents. A lack of compelling movies in theaters followed closely behind at 21.5%, with the anticipation of films becoming available on streaming services cited by 17.5%.
The survey also found that 41% of respondents considered a reasonable movie ticket price to be between 8,000 won (US$5.50) and just under 10,000 won, significantly lower than the current average cinema admission price of 14,000 to 15,000 won.
In contrast to declining cinema attendance, 45.9% of respondents reported an increase in their use of streaming services over the past year. 41.6% reported similar usage, while 12.6% reported a decline in streaming.
Among various over-the-top (OTT) platforms, Netflix dominated in usage at 88%, followed by Coupang Play at 46.8%, Tving at 35.5%, Disney+ at 26.5%, and Wavve at 14.4%. Participants were allowed to select multiple platforms.
The survey also examined primary viewing methods. Among film viewers, 56.1% indicated that OTT platforms were their preferred channel for watching movies, followed by television at 25.3%, video-on-demand services at 9%, and movie theaters at 8.3%.
The report emphasizes that the increase in OTT usage doesn’t automatically equate to a decline in movie theater visits, identifying factors such as rising costs, limited impact from governmental promotions, shifting leisure habits and changes in viewing habits due to film reviews as contributing to the change in cinema visits.
Based on these findings, the report suggests promotional policies that cater to the customer’s needs and also suggests the introduction of a holdback policy between the theatrical release and the streaming availability.
