facebook meadows farm studios film photography green screen  twitter meadows farm studios film photography green screen  youtube meadows farm studios film photography green screen  tumblr meadows farm studios film photography green screen  vimeo meadows farm studios film photography green screen  pinterest meadows farm studios film photography green screen

What makes a great 'quarantine film'? Analysing film search trends after COVID-19


With everyone now spending so much of their time inside, we’ve been watching movies much more as a society. We have always sought certain genres for a cheap thrill or a belly laugh, but now it seems we’re turning to Netflix and Amazon Prime in much higher numbers for something more substantial - sanity. The numbers show it, too. 


On April 21st, Netflix reported an increase of 15.8 million subscribers over a recent period, far ahead of the 7.6 million Wall Street predicted (Source: LA Times).

Compared to the same period last year, this has seen both their net income ($709 million) and their earnings per share ($1.57) more than double.

In comparing year-on-year data, we can accurately gauge the impact COVID-19 has had. With that in mind, we investigated the very movies, celebrities and genres we’ve been seeking refuge in to see how their public interest levels have changed. To do this, we compared the search volume data for the first full month of wide-scale quarantine (April 2020), to the same period a year prior (April 2019). You’ll find that across the board, searches are on the rise because people are watching more films than ever - this is why we’ll find the most interesting data when comparing searches. 

This data allows us to see what we as a society looked for in the oft-mentioned ‘quarantine movie’. Are we turning to comedies for solace or disaster movies to almost help us come to terms with the world around us? Will we see a rise in films like 28 Days Later, which portray large metropolitan areas empty of people, out of a grimly ironic search for relatability? Maybe everyone still just wants to watch The Lion King. 

The most interesting takeaways:

- Searches for “best fantasy movies” have increased by 125%, while searches for "best horror movies" have only increased by 82%. Are people seeking solace in the rolling hills and stunning landscapes of films like Lord of the Rings over the bloody dungeons of horror movies like Hostel?

- Searches for “sad movies” have increased by 124%, while searches for “happy movies” have only increased by 81%Does this show that people want to wallow in anxiety instead of trying to find ways to combat it?

- Searches for the actor “Tom Hanks movies” have surged by 234%Did people fear losing Tom Hanks after his brush with COVID-19 and search to find his best movies to watch and remind themselves of how talented he is?

- Searches for the film “Groundhog Day” have shot up by a staggering 811%Are people relating to a film where every day looks exactly the same; a sentiment that is common amongst people at the moment?

- Searches for “Call Me By Your Name” have increased by 307%Do people want to watch films filmed in beautiful areas like Northern Italy to help them deal with being stuck in their houses all day?

 
Below, you can find the data we've collected, along with the methodology and further notes at the bottom. 




Which movie genres are getting searched for more?

Search Term Searches in April ‘19 Searches in April ‘20 Percentile Change
“Best disaster movies” 1,000 2,900 +190%
“Best western movies” 1,000 2,400 +140%
“Best fantasy movies” 1,600 3,600 +125%
“Best romantic movies” 6,600 14,800 +124%
“Best comedy movies” 14,800 33,100 +123%
“Best action movies” 8,100 18,100 +123%
“Best animated movies” 8,100 14,800 +83%
“Best horror movies” 18,100 33,100 +82%

What emotions are we looking for from our movies?


Search Term

Searches in April ‘19 Searches in
April ‘20
Percentile Change
“Sad movies” 5,400 12,100 +124%
“Happy movies” 720 1,300 +81%

Which directors are we seeking out more?

Search Term

Searches in April ‘19 Searches in April ‘20 Percentile Change
“Martin Scorcese movies” 1,900 6,600 +247%
“Steven Speilberg movies” 3,600 9,900 +175%
“Christopher Nolan movies” 2,400 5,400 +125%
“Quentin Tarantino movies” 12,100 27,100 +123%
“David Fincher movies” 1,300 2,400 +85%

Which actors do we want to watch more?


Search Term

Searches in April ‘19 Searches in April ‘20 Percentile Change
“Tom Hanks movies” 14,800 49,500 +234%
“Leonardo DiCaprio movies” 14,800 40,500 +170%
“Will Smith movies” 18,100 40,500 +124%
“Brad Pitt movies” 12,100 27,100 +121%
“Morgan Freeman movies” 4,400 6,600 +50%
“Samuel L Jackson movies” 8,100 9,900 +22%

Which actresses do we want to watch more?

Search Term

Searches in April ‘19 Searches in April ‘20 Percentile Change

“Margot Robbie movies” 2,900 6,600 +128%
“Angelina Jolie movies” 4,400 8,100 +84%
“Emma Stone movies” 2,400 3,600 +50%
“Jennifer Lawrence movies” 5,400 8,100 +50%
“Scarlett Johansson movies” 9,900 14,800 +49%
“Brie Larson movies” 12,100 2,400 -80%

Which classics are we returning to?

- IMDb Top 5 Movies

Search Term

Searches in April ‘19 Searches in April ‘20 Percentile Change
“Pulp Fiction” 49,500 165,000 +233%
“The Godfather Part 2” 4,400 12,100 +175%
“The Godfather” 33,100 90,500 +173%
“The Shawshank Redemption” 74,000 135,000 +82%
“The Dark Knight” 49,500 74,000 +49%

- Disney movies

Search Term

Searches in April ‘19 Searches in April ‘20 Percentile Change
“The Emperor's New Groove” 5,400 22,200 +311%
“The Jungle Book” 27,100 90,500 +234%
“Cinderella” 49,500 165,000 +233%
“The Little Mermaid” 40,500 135,000 +222%
“The Lion King” 165,000 301,000 +82%

- Horror movies


Search Term

Searches in April ‘19 Searches in April ‘20 Percentile Change

“28 Days Later” 22,200 90,500 +308%
“Silence of the Lambs” 40,500 165,000 +307%
“Friday the 13th” 14,800 27,100 +83%
“A Nightmare on Elm Street” 6,600 6,600 0%
“Get Out” 135,000 90,500 -33%

- Comedy movies

Search Term Searches in April ‘19 Searches in April ‘20 Percentile Change
“Groundhog Day” 18,100 165,000 +811%
“Dumb and Dumber” 40,500 201,000 +396%
“The Naked Gun” 880 2,400 +172%
“Planes, Trains and Automobiles” 6,600 14,800 +124%
“Step Brothers” 27,100 60,500 +123%

- Romantic movies

Search Term Searches in April ‘19 Searches in April ‘20 Percentile Change
“Call Me By Your Name” 40,500 165,000 +307%
“Sleepless in Seattle” 6,600 22,200 +236%
“Clueless” 49,500 135,000 +172%
“Bridget Jones Diary” 22,200 27,100 +22%





Methodology and further notes:

We used the SEO Monitor ‘Search Trends after COVID-19’ tool to collect all of the data above, with the United Kingdom region selected. Their search volumes are taken from Google Ads’ Keyword Planner, using their own variations of the aggregation system.

Topics were picked based on our own personal knowledge of the industry, what people would be interested in and search strings on Google. For example, when deciding which actors we would cover, we searched  “most popular actors” so we could source the data that people would be most interested in. By this, we mean that the public is going to be considerably more interested in the data surrounding an actor like Tom Hanks, than a lesser-known actor like Iko Uwais. 

All data and information are accurate as of June 2020.