Motivations for Motion Picture Attendance in the Digital Age

Innovations in digital technology have provided consumers with a variety of screens and portals through which they can access motion picture entertainment. The rise of HD screens and digital home theater systems, along with disc and streaming media, has given consumers the ability to choose when and where they experience a motion picture. This thesis seeks to understand what factors motivate consumers to experience a film in the theater versus waiting to see the film at home. Using the uses and gratifications framework coupled with the theory of reasoned action, this thesis found that while behavioral control and an individual’s satisfaction with both his or her theatrical and home viewing environment may play roles in determining their decision to see a movie in the theater, it is expected affective gratifications that exert the biggest influence on theatrical attendance.