A report published yesterday(March 4) by the independent film research and tracking specialist filmBUZZreveals that festival-goers are a core constituent of arthouse audiences andplay a key role in those pictures' box office success.

"In our exit surveys at filmfestivals we discovered that audiences members' demographics closely mirrorthose of arthouse patrons," filmBUZZ president Greg Kahn said in a statement.

"These film festivalattendees, the majority of whom live in close proximity to the events, areprototypical "influencers" who also actively support independent film outsideof the festival circuit."

Kahn added thatfestival-goers were two to three times more likely to see a picture in atheatre than the typical American film-goer.

More than 25,000 audiencemembers, 419 film titles and 63 film festivals were included in the year-longstudy, conducted throughout 2003.

FilmBUZZ's report alsoconcluded that there is no correlation between critical praise and eitheraudience ratings or box office success.