A simple way to remember what your audience thought
Stockbridge Community Cinema publishes a film-by-film archive of attendance and audience ratings, giving a small volunteer venue a consistent record of what its audience liked.
Published 9/28/2026
The idea
One consistent question, recorded beside attendance, lets a small team see which films drew people and which satisfied them — without a data system.
Evidence
Its public 'Film Archive and Feedback' page lists each screening's date, film, audience number and an average audience score with the share rating the film good or excellent. It is organised by year, with comments included from September 2020.
Operator takeaway
The transferable value is the operating mechanism, not an assumed outcome. Adapt it with a clear baseline and decision rule.
Try this
Ask every audience the same one-line rating question for a season, record it with attendance and response count, and review the pattern quarterly before booking similar titles.
Measure
Attendance per screening; Response count; Average score; Share rating good or excellent; Genre or programme strand.
Watch out for
Response counts per screening are not shown, so scores may rest on few answers. People who choose to rate a film may differ from those who do not. There is no published evidence that the archive has changed programming, attendance or revenue.
Operator, market and timing
Stockbridge Community Cinema, a volunteer-run, 85-seat community cinema in Stockbridge Town Hall, Hampshire, screening twice a month. Archive reviewed 28 September 2026.
What the initiative does
Its public 'Film Archive and Feedback' page lists each screening's date, film, audience number and an average audience score with the share rating the film good or excellent. It is organised by year, with comments included from September 2020.
Why it may matter to an operator
One consistent question, recorded beside attendance, lets a small team see which films drew people and which satisfied them — without a data system.
Terms, eligibility and restrictions
A self-published record by the cinema. It is not independently audited.
What is known and what remains unknown
Response counts per screening are not shown, so scores may rest on few answers. People who choose to rate a film may differ from those who do not. There is no published evidence that the archive has changed programming, attendance or revenue.
A practical adaptation or test (CIA suggestion)
Ask every audience the same one-line rating question for a season, record it with attendance and response count, and review the pattern quarterly before booking similar titles.
Resources and commercial or operational risks
Volunteer time and a simple form or QR code. Risk: over-reading small samples.
What to measure
Attendance per screening; Response count; Average score; Share rating good or excellent; Genre or programme strand.
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