The typical film consumer in Sweden is young, urban, and literate. He/she prefers to watch films at home. Although Internet downloading is not yet a threat to cinemagoing, its rapid growth is undeniable says a report just published by SOM Institute for Göteborg University.

Since the SOM Institute first published its report about Swedish cinemagoers's habits and behaviours some 19 years ago, the Swedish media landcscape has changed dramatically, more than doubling over the last 15 years.

88% of Swedish households own text TV, 80% personal computers (nine times more than in 1996), 78% have an Internet connection, 77% own a video player and 75% a DVD player.

Against such a backdrop film-viewing habits have also evolved. Today, films in Sweden are viewed mostly at home: 57% of the people interviewed in the poll said they watch films on TV, 25 -28% on DVD, video or on cable TV, 14 - 16% on the Internet and only 10% in the cinemas...even if all film lovers feel that viewing films on a big screen is the most gratifying experience (72% of interviewees).

Cinema going in Sweden has remained stable over the last decade at around 16.4 million on average (15.3 million in 2006). Only 10% of Swedes go often (at least once a month) to the cinema. Among the most avid cinemagoers are youngsters (15-19 years old), potentially the segment of the population the most influenced by trends.

For the interviewees, the key element to go to the movies is
the subject matter (with a preference to comedies, then thrillers, drama and action). The second most important thing is the quality of the seating and of the viewing experience in the cinema. Then actors and cinema ticket prices can have an influence. Among the least important for them is the name of the director and film reviews.

The 15-19 years-old who show the strongest appetite for films, enjoy watching them on all media, including on their computers, and downloading films is a growing leisure activity for them: according to the report, the number of youngsters within that age group who admitted to have downloaded a film over the last year has grown by 20%. But other segments of the population under 40 who are downloading films are growing rapidly.

Today, film downloading from the Internet hasn't had an impact yet on cinemagoing as only one in five people in Sweden has admitted to have done it over the last year and less than one in 15 on a weekly basis, but the numbers are rising rapidly.

According to Rudolf Antoni who wrote the SOM report, the threat is there.