Traditionally, films premier at the cinema. For cinema-lovers, the big screen, smell of popcorn and larger audience all contribute to the overall experience. Yet there are drawbacks. Many consumers prefer the flexibility of home-viewing and half of all consumers worldwide say that going to the cinema is too costly. Generally, viewers who eschew the cinema have had to wait longer for home-release. Is this fair? Nearly half of consumers in 18 markets surveyed believe that it is.

Recent data from YouGov shows that 44% of consumers worldwide believe that major movies should always be released in cinema before they’re available to watch at home while only 18% disagree with this statement. About a third of respondents (31%) are undecided. Men (47%) are more likely than women to favour cinema-first release, compared to women (42%).

There is also significant variation in how people approach movies across markets. Consumers in Asia are more likely to favour cinema-first release, with the UAE (57%), India (56%) and Indonesia (53%) topping the list. Mexico is also well-above average at 52% agreement. This is unsurprising as previous YouGov research has shown that consumers in these markets are more likely to favour watching movies in cinema.

Of all the markets surveyed, the US is by far the least likely to agree that movies should be released in cinemas first, with only 30% of consumers saying so. Poland (35%), Germany (36%) and Canada (38%) are the other countries least likely to agree with the statement. While a significant proportion of global consumers favour traditional cinema-first release, an even greater proportion are at least open to other schedules.