Asian Americans Saw More Movies Last Year Than Any Other Ethnic Group

More African-Americans, Asians in U.S. Are Going to the Movies

American hits MoviesAfrican-Americans and Asians made gains in 2016 in terms of the number of trips they took to the theater, according to the Motion Picture Association of America, which on Wednesday released its annual report on moviegoing.The uptick followed the #OscarsSoWhite controversy in early 2016 and a concerted effort by Hollywood to showcase films with a more diverse cast.

Moonlight, a coming-of-age story about a young black man, won the Oscar for best picture last month in a surprise upset, while Hidden Figures, based on the story of three black female scientists who helped NASA put the first men into space, was a box-office hit. Hidden Figures and Denzel Washington's Fences were also nominated for the Oscar for best picture alongside Moonlight.
MPAA chief Chris Dodd told reporters during a press call that such films are having an impact, but agreed there is a long way to go in terms of diversity behind and in front of the camera.
"A lot of this [audience growth] is a result of diversity in content. Look at the Fast and the Furious series. No one had any idea how big it would be. The cast of these movies represents the populations of the world. You see bigger returns on movies like that," Fithian added.
Disney and Lucasfilm also made a point to feature a diverse cast in both Star Wars: A Force Awakens, opening in late 2015, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, released in December 2016.
According to the MPAA report, the number of frequent African-American moviegoers jumped 47 percent from 3.8 million in 2015 to 5.6 million in 2016, the highest number in recent memory. Another stat shows African-Americans buying 14 percent of all tickets sold, compared to 11 percent the year before.
The number of frequent Asian moviegoers also increased, from 3.2 million to 3.9 million. And in 2016, Asians made the strongest showing of any ethnicity group in terms of the share of tickets purchased (14 percent) relative to their share of the population (8 percent).
For years, Hispanics have over-indexed in terms of the share of movie tickets they buy, and are the largest segment of the moviegoing population after Caucasians.
The number of frequent Caucasian moviegoers declined from 19.3 million in 2015 to 18.3 million in 2016. And while this group still makes up the majority of all tickets sold, that share fell from 55 percent to 51 percent year-over-year.
Females also made a strong showing, fueling three of the top five grossing films at the North American box office in 2016, Finding Dory (55 percent), The Secret Life of Pets (54 percent) and The Jungle Book (52 percent). In 2015, only one female dominated-film landed in the top five, Inside Out.
Hollywood and theater owners also made gains in luring more millennials, with those between the ages of 18 and 24 going to the movies an average of 6.5 times in 2016, more than any other age group and up after a notable decline in 2015.
Among frequent moviegoers — who accounted for 48 percent of all tickets sold in 2016 — the only group that dipped were those between the ages of 40 and 49.

‘Logan’ Director Slams Tentpole Movies: ‘Bloated Exercises in Two-Hour Trailers’

Logan is considered one of the finest superhero movies ever made, and director James Mangold is being praised for his work on the film. The final Hugh Jackman Wolverine movie is unlike other comic book films in that it has fewer characters and more personal stakes. This made it look quite different than films from Marvel, DC, or even Fox.

Dafne Keen and Hugh Jackman take direction from James Mangold on the set of “Logan.” (Photo: 20th Century Fox)
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While on The Business on KCRW, Mangold slammed tentpole franchises. “If I’m going to insult other movies, I’m going to do it with a big broom,” he said.  “I’m going to say this is endemic. … I think, across all the boards — and by the way, outside of comic books, I’m talking about just tentpole movies in general — they’re not movies, generally. They’re bloated exercises in two-hour trailers for another movie they’re going to sell you in two years.”

Mangold also called out the trend of having throngs of characters that viewers see in films such as Captain America: Civil War and X-Men: Apocalypse. “There are so many characters that each character gets an arc of about six and a half minutes at best, and I’m not exaggerating,” he said. “I mean, you take 120 minutes, you take 45 of it for action. What are you left with — divide it by six characters, you have the character arc of Elmer Fudd in a Warner Bros. cartoon. So, that formula is empty to me.”

“Logan” director James Mangold (Photo: 20th Century Fox)
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Mangold did give a shout-out to the creators of a few tentpole movies he enjoys — “I think there have been some wonderful films made in the last decade and a half,” he said. “I mean, Guardians of the Galaxy jumps out at me. The first Iron Man. These were some startlingly good movies in their own way. … But the collective world that they’ve spawned is a little repetitive.”

Watch: ‘X-Men’ Stars Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart’s Favorite Memories:

In 2016, Asian Americans were the biggest U.S. moviegoers of any ethnic group, dethroning Hispanics by seeing 1.5 more movies on average that year

According to the exhibition lobbying firm the National Association of Theater Owners in their annual Theatrical Market Statistics Report, the Asian/Other category reported the highest annual attendance per capita in 2016 — on average, Asian Americans went to the movies 6.1 times.
In comparison, Americans of Hispanic descent went to the movies an average 4.6 times, while African Americans went 4.2 times and Caucasians went 3.2 times.

Also Read: Moviegoers Want Their Superhero Blockbusters R-Rated, Survey Finds

In 2015, the Hispanic population had the biggest per capita attendance with 5.2 average visits, followed by Asians. In 2014, Asians were also the largest moviegoer group, with 5.2 visits on average.
The number of Caucasian moviegoers decreased by 0.2 visits per year from 2015 to 2016, while Hispanics visited the movies 0.6 times less than the previous year. African American and Asian groups increased per capita attendance compared to 2015.

Also Read: Young Moviegoers Drove 2015 Box Office Rebound

In terms of age, 18- to 24-year-olds had the highest per capita attendance of any age group in 2016. On average, that age group went to the movies 6.5 times, followed by 12- to 17-year-olds (6.1). 18- to 24-year-olds also had the largest increase in per capita attendance of any age group, up 0.6 from 2015.
Per capita annual movie attendance decreased both for males and females in 2016, with 3.8 and 3.7, respectively. Both gender’s attendance decreased by 0.1.

Chinese moviegoers love to spend their hard-earned yuan on Hollywood blockbusters like "Captain America: Civil War," "Avatar" and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." Comedies and dramas? Not so much.  Read on to see which American hits Movies have raked in the most money (according to BoxOfficeMojo) in that nation across the Pacific.

 "Furious 7" (2015)
$390.9 million
The Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson revved-up action flick is easily the highest-grossing Hollywood movie ever in China. The late Paul Walker remains among China's most beloved American actors.
Universal

 "Transformers: Age of Extinction" (2014)
$320 million
Mark Wahlberg starred in the sci-fi movie based on the foldable toys, which was co-produced by two Chinese firms and was the first Hollywood movie to make more than $300 million in the Middle Kingdom.
Paramount

 "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015)
$240.1 million
The superhero mashup is China's highest-grossing Marvel Cinematic Universe film, a franchise that's been embraced by the country's young-leaning moviegoers.
Marvel

 "Zootopia" (2016)
$235.6 million
The buddy-cop comedy is the highest-grossing imported animated film in the history of the Chinese box office, and it played especially well in China's second- and third-tier cities.
Disney

 "Jurassic World" (2015)
$228.7 million
Like "Furious 7," the dinosaur sci-fi adventure was produced by Legendary Entertainment, which was acquired by China's Dalian Wanda Group in January.
Universal

 "Warcraft" (2016)
$220.8 million
Another Legendary film, this one inspired by a video game series, flopped in the U.S. but dominated the Chinese market, which is home to about half of the video game's players worldwide.
Universal

 "Avatar" (2009)
$204.1 million
The worldwide smash hit also captivated Chinese audiences, even back in 2009, when the country's box office was a fraction of the size that it is today.
Fox

 "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" (2011)
$165.1 million
The prequel to this film, 2009's "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," made $65.8 million in China, setting the stage for "Dark of the Moon" to be the country's highest-grossing Hollywood film since "Avatar" at the time.
Paramount

 "Kung Fu Panda 3" (2016)
$154.3 million
The Mandarin-language version of the movie starring Jack Black as a friendly fighting bear had the characters reanimated so their mouths moved naturally with the translated words.
DreamWorks

 "The Jungle Book" (2016)
$150.1 million
The live-action/animation hybrid was a hit in several international markets, especially India, and it also played well throughout China.
Disney

 "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" (2015)
$135.7 million
China's Alibaba Pictures invested in "Rogue Nation," and star Tom Cruise visited several Chinese cities to promote the film, helping it open strong and stick around in theaters even though its China debut came more than a month after its U.S. premiere.
Paramount

 "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (2016)
$124.2 million
Despite China being one of the few markets that didn't catch "Star Wars" fever -- the movie put some people there to sleep -- Disney's promotional efforts helped it clear $100 million.
Lucasfilm

 "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" (2014)
$121.7 million
The third and final installment in Peter Jackson's "Hobbit" series was another movie that succeeded even though it was released in China well after its U.S. premiere.
Warner Bros.

 "Iron Man 3" (2013)
$121.2 million
All three movies in the Robert Downey Jr. franchise have played in China, helping build brand awareness beyond just the bankable Marvel name.
Marvel

 "X-Men: Apocalypse" (2016)
$12o.8 million
Disney bought Marvel Entertainment in 2009, but Fox acquired the film rights to Marvel's "X-Men" franchise before then. It doesn't seem to matter much in China, where anything Marvel often turns into a big hit.
Fox

 "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (2014)
$115.6 million
The predecessor to this year's "Civil War," "Winter Soldier" was a hit despite its fairly political content, which is usually a negative in Chinese theaters.
Marvel

  "Terminator Genisys" (2015)
$113.2 million
The fifth "Terminator" film was the franchise's lowest-grossing since the 1984 original, but it was the first in the series to get a Chinese theatrical release.
Paramount

 "Pacific Rim" (2013)
$111.9 million
The futuristic sci-fi adventure, in which humans battle sea monsters, is yet another fantasy action movie that Chinese audiences loved.
Warner Bros.

 "Ant-Man" (2015)
$105.4 million
Yet another Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, "Ant-Man" made just $180.2 million at the domestic box office but was a much bigger hit in China.
Marvel

 "San Andreas" (2015)
$103.2 million
China knows Dwayne Johnson from the "Fast and Furious" franchise, and the earthquake disaster film he headlined last year reverberated at the Chinese box office.
Warner Bros.

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Chinese moviegoers love to spend their hard-earned yuan on Hollywood blockbusters like "Captain America: Civil War," "Avatar" and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." Comedies and dramas? Not so much. Read on to see which American hits have raked in the most money (according to BoxOfficeMojo) in that nation across the Pacific.