Economic and Cultural Influences on the Theatrical Consumption of Foreign Films in Singapore

Abstract

This study investigates audience acceptance of foreign movies in an import-dominated exhibition market - Singapore. The characteristics of home cinema markets and the cultural distances of the film-exporting countries are operationalized in an empirical model to explain the highly varied demand in this import market for international films from various sources. We show that during 2002-2004 release frequencies and box-office performance for films originating in different countries are significantly accounted for by both economic and cultural factors. Films from countries with larger domestic markets and from countries culturally more similar to Singapore experience greater box-office success. Furthermore, an individual foreign film's Singapore box-office performance is explained by its box-office success in its home market and the intercountry cultural distance.