NEW YORK—When it comes to popular culture, US Hispanics are prolific consumers – so understanding their preferences among genres, actors, and actresses is a top priority for the movie industry.
Research from MRI-Simmons and E-Poll shows that, compared to the average moviegoer nationwide, Hispanic moviegoers (ages 18 and above) are 36% more likely to see at least one movie a month. Four in ten (41%) Hispanic moviegoers attend one movie a month or more, compared to 30% of all US moviegoers.
In addition, one out of 5 Hispanic moviegoers prefer to see a new movie on opening weekend; this makes them 69% more likely to do so compared to the average moviegoer nationwide.
US Hispanic moviegoers also are 77% more likely to watch a full-length movie on their mobile/smartphones compared to the average US moviegoer (19% of Hispanic moviegoers versus 11% for all US moviegoers).
The top three genres among Hispanic moviegoers are Action/Adventure, Comedy, and Drama; and in each category, their favorite actors and actresses are sometimes profoundly different from the overall US population.
Product preferences differ among Hispanic movie fans
A new analysis using MRI E-Score Celebrity Fusion (January 2019) – a joint product of MRI-Simmons and E-Poll – shows how the Hispanic fans of today’s leading film stars also differ in their preferences across a host of product categories, from bottled water to candy.
Hispanic moviegoers who are fans of Jennifer Lopez are 32% more likely than the average US population to be Kit Kat consumers in the past 6 months. But those who like Mila Kunis are two times more likely to be M&M’s Almond consumers. Lopez, Kunis, and Sofia Vergara are the most-liked film actresses among Hispanic moviegoers.
The MRI E-Score Celebrity Fusion also identified that Hispanic moviegoers who like Leonardo DiCaprio are 62% more likely to be Fiji bottled water consumers in the past 6 months, compared to the US average. Keanu Reeves fans, on the other hand, show an affinity for Crystal Geyser (two times more likely). DiCaprio, Reeves, and Chris Rock are the most-liked film actors among Hispanic moviegoers.
Table 1. Product favorites among Hispanic moviegoers who like film actors and actresses
| Top bottled water brand | Top candy brand | |||||
| Mila Kunis | Evian | M&M’s Almond | ||||
| Sofia Vergara | Perrier | Twix | ||||
| Jennifer Lopez | Crystal Geyser | Kit Kat | ||||
| Leonardo DiCaprio | Fiji | Hershey’s Almond | ||||
| Keanu Reeves | Arrowhead | Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme | ||||
| Chris Rock | Crystal Geyser | Hershey’s Kisses | ||||
The findings on Hispanic moviegoers come from the January 2019 MRI E-Score Celebrity Fusion – a fusion of the MRI-Simmons Doublebase 2018 data and data from E-Poll’s E-Score Celebrity study. Doublebase 2018 data represent two waves (roughly 48,000 consumer interviews) of MRI’s Survey of the American Consumer®.
The MRI E-Score Celebrity Fusion covers over 4,000 celebrities and 600 product categories, allowing brands, agencies, and media companies to see which celebrities best fit with their brands, sponsorships and media campaigns.
