70%电影票在网络销售

When buying a movie ticket nowadays, there are two important transactions going on at the same time. One is financial; the other is in the market for information. Internet presales now account for up to 70 percent of movie-ticket purchases.

Capital Cinema is one of the busiest cinemas in Beijing, but few movie-goers visit the ticket counter. Most go directly to the vending machines to pick up tickets they have already booked online. Why? Because it is cheaper.

"There’s a minimum price for each ticket, but the platforms offer a much lower price in order to get more people to use their service. They are paying partly for the customers. As a result, some 70 percent of the movie tickets are sold online,” said Yu Chao of Capital Cinema.

Selling tickets is not the main source of income for the Internet-based vendors. Rather, the value lies in gathering data about customer behavior.

"We can find out what kinds of movie are selling the best, which characters or actors are most popular. And by the users’ comments, we can analyze their consuming habits. These can all be sorted out in a very detailed report,” said analyst Cao Yongshou.

The data can be used in almost every aspect of film production and even provide information and advice for marketing strategies.