Reliable entertainment: Spanish consumers' preferences regarding a film's country of origin

This article contributes to the study of cinema audiences in Europe by analyzing the actual behavior of Spanish moviegoers and their level of satisfaction. We modeled moviegoers' choice of film by country of origin (U.S.A., Spain, and other countries) according to a set of determinants: (1) consumers' interpretation of several sources of information, (2) motivations and (3) choice rules. We found three clear consumer stereotypes related to each type of film: (1) U.S.A. films were preferred by almost everyone (especially families and younger audiences); (2) Spanish films had audiences composed of middle‐age and middle‐class moviegoers; and (3) European productions were preferred by a social or intellectual elite. U.S.A. films dominate the Spanish market for the reason that they provide most of what moviegoers prefer, namely, familiar, reliable entertainment in Spanish; three characteristics that are not satisfied by Spanish and European films. Additionally, we discuss the implications for the European cultural policy. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.