The survey, which has a margin of error of 2 percentage points, asked the 1,116 adults who had an unfavorable view of foreign language films why they disliked the genre. More than half (54 percent) cited the difficulty of reading subtitles while trying to follow on-screen action as a major reason why they were not a fan of the genre, while 50 percent said they did not like watching films where no English is spoken. The margin of error for that subsample is 3 points.

Experts say U.S. audiences for foreign cinema have typically been small, with Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television & Popular Culture at Syracuse University, citing access to arthouse cinema as a major factor that may limit audiences to residents of major cities and dedicated cinephiles. 

And for marketers and distributors, there’s little financial motivation for changing the status quo. “The cost of marketing and distributing theatrically a foreign language film is maybe prohibitive and not cost-effective at all,” said Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst with Comscore Inc.

This results in what Ira Deutchman, an independent film producer and distributor, called a “self-fulfilling prophecy” where “there hasn't been enough outreach to expand the audience,” which then results in a small box office. 

But streaming services like Netflix Inc. could be a game-changer: Last year, Kelly Luegenbiehl, vice president of international originals at Netflix, said that half of subscribers have watched a foreign language show, up from roughly 30 percent two years earlier.

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