Poll Analysis: Private Ryan and Tom Hanks Big Oscar Winners Among General Public
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Most Americans, however, have not seen even one of the nominated movies.
Times Poll Asst. Director
The Academy Awards may create a big stir in Hollywood and the tabloid press, but few Americans have actually seen the nominated movies, according to a recent Los Angeles Times poll. Sixty-one percent of American adults had not gone to a theatre to see even one of the five movies nominated for best picture this year, and only 1% said they'd seen all five.
The television broadcast of the awards is popular, however. The survey found over four in ten of all adults in America (41%) said they have plans to watch the Academy Awards broadcast on March 21st this year. A slightly larger number (44%) indicated they have other plans that evening, along with 15% who said "It depends if I'm home" or said they don't know (possibly waiting to see if they get a better offer?). Men are less likely to watch the awards show than are women--half the men in the survey said they wouldn't watch compared with only 39% of women who will be doing something else that night. A 44% plurality of women and 38% of men indicated they do plan to tune in on Sunday night to watch the Oscars being handed out.
Best Picture
When asked which film should take home the biggest prize, 45% named Saving Private Ryan as their choice for Best Picture. No other movie comes close to the popularity of the World War II drama. Shakespeare in Love was mentioned 6% of the time, followed by Life is Beautiful at 4%. Elizabeth and The Thin Red Line trailed behind with 3% each.Even those who said they haven't seen any of the movies picked out Saving Private Ryan over the other nominated films. The movie's popularity takes an astounding jump to a 65% majority choice for Best Picture among those who have seen just one of the nominated movies. This may be an indication that the emotional drama is the only nominated movie many moviegoers have seen.
Most people said the mere fact that a movie is nominated is not enough to motivate them to see it. Nearly seven in ten (69%) adults indicated an Academy Award nomination had no affect on their movie going choices, and only one in ten said a movie's nomination would make them much more likely to see it. Eighteen percent said a nomination was somewhat more likely to influence their viewing choices.
It isn't as if moviegoers were wishing something else had been nominated, either. When asked if there were another movie they would have liked to have seen named by the Academy as a finalist for the Best Picture award, only 12% named another film. The Truman Show was picked by 2% of respondents, Patch Adams, There's Something About Mary, and The Horse Whisperer received 1% each. (The other 7% are movies named less than one percent of the time.)
Among the most Oscar-aware public--the 8% who have seen three or more of the nominated movies--the lesser known films are somewhat more popular. Even among this group, however, Saving Private Ryan is still the overwhelming favorite with a 61% majority, but 15% named Life is Beautiful as their Best Picture choice and 13% picked Shakespeare in Love.
Best Actor
Popular American leading man Tom Hanks got the nod from nearly half (48%) of all adults for the Best Actor award, indicating the public would like to see Saving Private Ryan sweep the top awards. Nick Nolte was named as Best Actor by 5% of all adults for his leading role in Affliction, 4% selected Roberto Benigni for his work in Life Is Beautiful, while Ian McKellan and Edward Norton were mentioned by 1% each.
Among those respondents who have seen three or more nominated pictures, the lesser known actors are slightly more popular but Hanks still gets the majority nod at 58%, with Benigni selected by 15%, Nolte by 9%, McKellan by 3% and Norton by 2%.
Best Actress
Respondents were much less unanimous in their support of Best Actress nominees. Meryl Streep garnered 18% of the mentions for her role in One True Thing. Gwyneth Paltrow was next highest with 10% giving her the nod for her work in Shakespeare in Love while Cate Blanchett and Emily Watson trailed with 5% and 3% respectively, and Fernanda Montenegro, a well respected actress in her own country but little-known here, was named by only 1%. The majority of respondents (63%) indicated they don't know or haven't heard enough about any of the actresses to make a choice.Those who have seen three or more of the movies nominated for Best Picture, however, are more opinionated. Among this group, Paltrow leads at 29%, followed by Blanchett with 22% of the mentions, and Streep with 20%. Emily Watson gets the nod from 9% of this group, and Montenegro from 4%. Only 16% had no opinion.
Best Supporting Actor and Actress
Once again, majorities of respondents did not have enough information or didn't know who their favorite was for the categories of Best Supporting Actor (58%) and Actress (66%). Robert Duval was mentioned by 20% for the supporting actor award for his work in A Civil Action, but no other actor was mentioned by over 10% of respondents. Similarly, Kathy Bates was named by 18% of respondents for her supporting role in Primary Colors, with no other actresses breaking higher than 10% among all adults.
The small group who have seen three or more movies picked Duval over a close pack for Best Supporting Actor at 22%, followed by Ed Harris at 19%, James Coburn at 14%, Billy Bob Thornton at 11% and Geoffry Rush at 10%. Kathy Bates is the favorite for Best Supporting Actress with 24% of the mentions among this group, followed by Judi Dench at 21%, and Lynn Redgrave at 19%. Brenda Blethyn and Rachel Griffiths trail at 2% and 3% respectively.
Movie Satisfaction
Americans are somewhat split over their satisfaction with the quality of modern American movies, with 47% indicating they are satisfied with the quality and 42% saying they aren't. People's negative feelings about films are somewhat stronger, however, with twice as many (10%) saying they are entirely dissatisfied with American movies than are entirely satisfied (5%).
When asked what they liked most about American movies, 12% said they didn't like anything while 15% said there was nothing in particular they liked. Ten percent of respondents (including 14% of men and only 5% of women) named the ability to put on a good action scene as their main reason for liking American movies. Nine percent of all respondents said American movies tell a good story, while 8% said our movies are realistic.
There may be some truth to the idea that there are men's movies and women's movies. When asked about their opinion of the problems with modern American movies, men and women often differed in their responses. More than two out of five Americans named violence as the major problem with American movies today. That number includes half of all women and a third of men. Men and women have slightly different opinions about problematic sexual content of movies, as well. Sixteen percent of men and 25% of women named too much sex, or unprotected sex as the main problem with American movies today. Twice as many women (17%) as men (8%) object to bad language in movies.
Movie Watching Habits
Two thirds of American adults said they watch rented movies at home on their VCR more often than they go out to a movie theater. This number climbs to 70% among 18-29 year olds and to three out of every four (76%) among the 30-44 year olds, age groups that include families busy with work and child-rearing and watching their budgets. The youngest group, however, were most likely to have gone to a theater to watch a movie in the last month--59% said they had gone at least once, compared to 38% among 30-44 year olds, 29% among 45-64 year olds and 16% among those 65 and older.
In fact, 31% of those who said they rent movies more often than going out named the high price of movie tickets as the main reason. Twelve percent said they have no time to go out to a movie and 9% said that having small children at home keeps them in.
Two thirds of all adults said that movie tickets are too expensive for their taste, nearly 2 in 5 (39%) characterized them as "very expensive" while 23% said movie tickets are "just about the right price." Forty-three percent said that the price of movie tickets keeps them from going out to the movies, while 40% said it makes no difference.
Sex and Violence and the State of Movies Today
Most Americans (61%) told us they felt movie content is staying the same or getting better. Twenty-nine percent, however, disagree, saying the content is getting worse. Older people (65+), who may be bringing a longer view to the question, are the biggest critics--a 44% plurality said movie content is getting worse.
A majority of this older group (67%) think that the amount of violence in modern American movies is a very serious problem, compared to a still-high 45% overall. There is widespread agreement that it is a serious problem--72% overall and 87% of the oldest Americans said this. More women (79%) than men (63%) consider movie violence a serious problem, but those are still both sizeable majorities.Seven out of ten people think the film industry needs to do more than they already are to reduce the amount of violence in movies, with 25% saying they are already doing enough. Women (78%) and older people (84%) are most inclined to agree that the film industry should work harder on the problem.
Asked if the amount of sex in movies is a serious problem a smaller majority (63%) agreed. Seventy percent of women and 54% of men said sexual movie content is a serious problem. The older you are, the less you like sex in your movies--under half (49%) of 18-29 year olds think movie sex is a serious problem. That number increases to 54% among 30-44 year olds, and to 75% among those between 45 and 64; 79% of Americans over 65 think the sexual content of films is a serious problem.
Generally, violence in movies bothers people more than sex, by 20% to 11% respectively. A plurality of 44% indicated that the subjects bothered them equally and another 24% said neither bother them. This subject again separates the men from the women. A 56% majority of women said both issues bother them equally and twice as many are bothered more by violence than by sex while 15% said neither issue bother them. Among men, that figure was 35% while 30% said both issues were an equal problem. Men also consider violence to be the bigger problem over sex by 21% to 13%.
How the Poll Was Conducted
The Times Poll contacted 1,249 adults nationwide by telephone February 2728. Telephone numbers were chosen from a list of all exchanges in the nation. Random-digit dialing techniques were used so that listed and non-listed numbers could be contacted. The entire sample was weighted slightly to conform with census figures for sex, race, age, education and region. The margin of sampling error for the entire sample is plus or minus three percentage points. For certain subgroups the error margin may be somewhat higher. Poll results can also be affected by other factors such as question wording and the order in which questions are presented.
The television broadcast of the awards is popular, however. The survey found over four in ten of all adults in America (41%) said they have plans to watch the Academy Awards broadcast on March 21st this year. A slightly larger number (44%) indicated they have other plans that evening, along with 15% who said "It depends if I'm home" or said they don't know (possibly waiting to see if they get a better offer?). Men are less likely to watch the awards show than are women--half the men in the survey said they wouldn't watch compared with only 39% of women who will be doing something else that night. A 44% plurality of women and 38% of men indicated they do plan to tune in on Sunday night to watch the Oscars being handed out.
Best Picture
When asked which film should take home the biggest prize, 45% named Saving Private Ryan as their choice for Best Picture. No other movie comes close to the popularity of the World War II drama. Shakespeare in Love was mentioned 6% of the time, followed by Life is Beautiful at 4%. Elizabeth and The Thin Red Line trailed behind with 3% each.Even those who said they haven't seen any of the movies picked out Saving Private Ryan over the other nominated films. The movie's popularity takes an astounding jump to a 65% majority choice for Best Picture among those who have seen just one of the nominated movies. This may be an indication that the emotional drama is the only nominated movie many moviegoers have seen.
Most people said the mere fact that a movie is nominated is not enough to motivate them to see it. Nearly seven in ten (69%) adults indicated an Academy Award nomination had no affect on their movie going choices, and only one in ten said a movie's nomination would make them much more likely to see it. Eighteen percent said a nomination was somewhat more likely to influence their viewing choices.
It isn't as if moviegoers were wishing something else had been nominated, either. When asked if there were another movie they would have liked to have seen named by the Academy as a finalist for the Best Picture award, only 12% named another film. The Truman Show was picked by 2% of respondents, Patch Adams, There's Something About Mary, and The Horse Whisperer received 1% each. (The other 7% are movies named less than one percent of the time.)
Among the most Oscar-aware public--the 8% who have seen three or more of the nominated movies--the lesser known films are somewhat more popular. Even among this group, however, Saving Private Ryan is still the overwhelming favorite with a 61% majority, but 15% named Life is Beautiful as their Best Picture choice and 13% picked Shakespeare in Love.
Best Actor
Popular American leading man Tom Hanks got the nod from nearly half (48%) of all adults for the Best Actor award, indicating the public would like to see Saving Private Ryan sweep the top awards. Nick Nolte was named as Best Actor by 5% of all adults for his leading role in Affliction, 4% selected Roberto Benigni for his work in Life Is Beautiful, while Ian McKellan and Edward Norton were mentioned by 1% each.
Among those respondents who have seen three or more nominated pictures, the lesser known actors are slightly more popular but Hanks still gets the majority nod at 58%, with Benigni selected by 15%, Nolte by 9%, McKellan by 3% and Norton by 2%.
Best Actress
Respondents were much less unanimous in their support of Best Actress nominees. Meryl Streep garnered 18% of the mentions for her role in One True Thing. Gwyneth Paltrow was next highest with 10% giving her the nod for her work in Shakespeare in Love while Cate Blanchett and Emily Watson trailed with 5% and 3% respectively, and Fernanda Montenegro, a well respected actress in her own country but little-known here, was named by only 1%. The majority of respondents (63%) indicated they don't know or haven't heard enough about any of the actresses to make a choice.Those who have seen three or more of the movies nominated for Best Picture, however, are more opinionated. Among this group, Paltrow leads at 29%, followed by Blanchett with 22% of the mentions, and Streep with 20%. Emily Watson gets the nod from 9% of this group, and Montenegro from 4%. Only 16% had no opinion.
Best Supporting Actor and Actress
Once again, majorities of respondents did not have enough information or didn't know who their favorite was for the categories of Best Supporting Actor (58%) and Actress (66%). Robert Duval was mentioned by 20% for the supporting actor award for his work in A Civil Action, but no other actor was mentioned by over 10% of respondents. Similarly, Kathy Bates was named by 18% of respondents for her supporting role in Primary Colors, with no other actresses breaking higher than 10% among all adults.
The small group who have seen three or more movies picked Duval over a close pack for Best Supporting Actor at 22%, followed by Ed Harris at 19%, James Coburn at 14%, Billy Bob Thornton at 11% and Geoffry Rush at 10%. Kathy Bates is the favorite for Best Supporting Actress with 24% of the mentions among this group, followed by Judi Dench at 21%, and Lynn Redgrave at 19%. Brenda Blethyn and Rachel Griffiths trail at 2% and 3% respectively.
Movie Satisfaction
Americans are somewhat split over their satisfaction with the quality of modern American movies, with 47% indicating they are satisfied with the quality and 42% saying they aren't. People's negative feelings about films are somewhat stronger, however, with twice as many (10%) saying they are entirely dissatisfied with American movies than are entirely satisfied (5%).
When asked what they liked most about American movies, 12% said they didn't like anything while 15% said there was nothing in particular they liked. Ten percent of respondents (including 14% of men and only 5% of women) named the ability to put on a good action scene as their main reason for liking American movies. Nine percent of all respondents said American movies tell a good story, while 8% said our movies are realistic.
There may be some truth to the idea that there are men's movies and women's movies. When asked about their opinion of the problems with modern American movies, men and women often differed in their responses. More than two out of five Americans named violence as the major problem with American movies today. That number includes half of all women and a third of men. Men and women have slightly different opinions about problematic sexual content of movies, as well. Sixteen percent of men and 25% of women named too much sex, or unprotected sex as the main problem with American movies today. Twice as many women (17%) as men (8%) object to bad language in movies.
Movie Watching Habits
Two thirds of American adults said they watch rented movies at home on their VCR more often than they go out to a movie theater. This number climbs to 70% among 18-29 year olds and to three out of every four (76%) among the 30-44 year olds, age groups that include families busy with work and child-rearing and watching their budgets. The youngest group, however, were most likely to have gone to a theater to watch a movie in the last month--59% said they had gone at least once, compared to 38% among 30-44 year olds, 29% among 45-64 year olds and 16% among those 65 and older.
In fact, 31% of those who said they rent movies more often than going out named the high price of movie tickets as the main reason. Twelve percent said they have no time to go out to a movie and 9% said that having small children at home keeps them in.
Two thirds of all adults said that movie tickets are too expensive for their taste, nearly 2 in 5 (39%) characterized them as "very expensive" while 23% said movie tickets are "just about the right price." Forty-three percent said that the price of movie tickets keeps them from going out to the movies, while 40% said it makes no difference.
Sex and Violence and the State of Movies Today
Most Americans (61%) told us they felt movie content is staying the same or getting better. Twenty-nine percent, however, disagree, saying the content is getting worse. Older people (65+), who may be bringing a longer view to the question, are the biggest critics--a 44% plurality said movie content is getting worse.
A majority of this older group (67%) think that the amount of violence in modern American movies is a very serious problem, compared to a still-high 45% overall. There is widespread agreement that it is a serious problem--72% overall and 87% of the oldest Americans said this. More women (79%) than men (63%) consider movie violence a serious problem, but those are still both sizeable majorities.Seven out of ten people think the film industry needs to do more than they already are to reduce the amount of violence in movies, with 25% saying they are already doing enough. Women (78%) and older people (84%) are most inclined to agree that the film industry should work harder on the problem.
Asked if the amount of sex in movies is a serious problem a smaller majority (63%) agreed. Seventy percent of women and 54% of men said sexual movie content is a serious problem. The older you are, the less you like sex in your movies--under half (49%) of 18-29 year olds think movie sex is a serious problem. That number increases to 54% among 30-44 year olds, and to 75% among those between 45 and 64; 79% of Americans over 65 think the sexual content of films is a serious problem.
Generally, violence in movies bothers people more than sex, by 20% to 11% respectively. A plurality of 44% indicated that the subjects bothered them equally and another 24% said neither bother them. This subject again separates the men from the women. A 56% majority of women said both issues bother them equally and twice as many are bothered more by violence than by sex while 15% said neither issue bother them. Among men, that figure was 35% while 30% said both issues were an equal problem. Men also consider violence to be the bigger problem over sex by 21% to 13%.
How the Poll Was Conducted
The Times Poll contacted 1,249 adults nationwide by telephone February 2728. Telephone numbers were chosen from a list of all exchanges in the nation. Random-digit dialing techniques were used so that listed and non-listed numbers could be contacted. The entire sample was weighted slightly to conform with census figures for sex, race, age, education and region. The margin of sampling error for the entire sample is plus or minus three percentage points. For certain subgroups the error margin may be somewhat higher. Poll results can also be affected by other factors such as question wording and the order in which questions are presented.