Twitter Users Hit Theaters More Than Average Moviegoers: Study

Twitter users aren’t just chatting about movies. In fact, they go to the cinema more often than average Americans, and are nearly twice as likely to see a pic within 10 days of its opening, according to new research commissioned by the social company.

In a survey conducted this spring by Nielsen, Twitter users said they plan to see a median of five movies this summer — 25% more than the average moviegoer surveyed. In addition, they are 87% more likely than non-users to go see a movie within the first 10 days of its opening and 340% more likely than non-users to have seen more than 12 movies in theaters over the last six months.

Moreover, on average, 58% of Twitter users were aware of 19 upcoming summer films included in the survey compared with 41% of non-users.

Obviously, Twitter’s goal with the research is to show Hollywood that it’s a valuable outlet for promoting theatrical fare. Last summer the company ran a similar study with Nielsen, which among other things found that 87% of Twitter users said their most recent decision to see a film in the theater was influenced by tweets.

For Universal, Twitter is an integral part of the studio’s social-media efforts and has been a core component of recent digital campaigns for releases including “Fifty Shades of Grey,” “Furious 7″ and “Unfriended,” according to Doug Neil, executive VP of digital marketing for Universal.

“We leverage the real-time nature of Twitter communication to amplify and promote our trailers, photos and news,” he said. “Their rich media offerings allow us to present video within stream to our followers — and to our talent’s fans — as well as to target potential moviegoers with our message.”

The most recent Twitter movie survey was conducted in mid-March by Nielsen NRG, which ran an online poll of 1,000 U.S. moviegoers aged 13-54. A “moviegoer” was defined as someone who had seen at least one movie in the past six months.

Other findings: 39% of users said they have tweeted about a movie, 32% have retweeted a movie-related tweet and 26% have replied to a movie-related tweet. “Their frequent interactions on the platform mean they’re also key influencers,” said Jennifer Prince, Twitter’s industry director for entertainment.

For Twitter users, social media now is a key driver for movie awareness, according to the study. About 54% of users offline word of mouth is one of the top ways they hear about movie content, compared with 63% who cited social media. On average, 60% of moviegoers surveyed were aware of upcoming sequels, such as Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation.”

In a recent Twitter promo, Marvel Entertainment teamed with Dr. Pepper to invite users to tweet the name of their favorite Avenger character — after which Marvel rewarded them with access to a new “Avengers: Age of Ultron” video:

Finally, the survey asked about interacting with cast members from upcoming releases. Nearly half of Twitter users said they plan to participate in a cast Q&A in the future to connect directly with actresses and actors.

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