Nearly half of moviegoers reduced cinema visits over the past year due to a variety of factors, including rising costs and the growing appeal of streaming services, a recent survey showed Thursday. The Korean Film Council’s annual survey on movie content consumption trends, released earlier this month, found that 45.8 percent of respondents had reduced their visits to local theaters from a year ago, with 16.5 percent reporting a “significant” reduction and 29.3 percent a “moderate” one. Of the remaining respondents, 42.1 percent said their theater visits remained mostly unchanged, while 12.1 percent reported an increase. The survey was conducted in October last year on 3,000 people aged 14-69 who watched more than one movie at the cinema or on streaming services from October 2024 to September 2025. Among those who had cut back on visits, cost was the leading factor at 25.1 percent, followed by a lack of compelling movies in theaters at 21.5 percent and the anticipated availability of films on streaming services at 17.5 percent. The survey found 41 percent of the respondents considered a r
