Cinema audiences’ behavior interests both industry professionals and academics.
Cinema-going is still indisputably popular form of entertainment in Malaysia. This
study discusses cinema-going in the era of omnipresent screens. It aims to verify
Malaysians’ cinema going behaviors and the sustainability factors contributing to
the Malaysian film industry. The various factors affecting cinema and movie-going
behavior would include encouragement, theme, motivation, perception, gratification,
and genre. The local filmmaking industry fell into a decline after 2014 based on
observation of annual film production. In the context of westernization, this small
market presents a challenge for the government in promoting local popular films.
With the influx of genre films from abroad, Malaysian cinema is struggling to the
hilt to survive. To understand this situation from the perspective of the audiences,
this study, using data from surveys conducted in Malaysia in 2018, discusses the
fandom of Malaysian cinema, their cinema-going behavior, and the association
with their identities.