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If you or a loved one have been turning on subtitles more frequently lately, you’re not alone. Recent studies find it’s an increasingly common practice among American media consumers, challenging preexisting assumptions about national preferences.
While foreign-language films have always been beloved among film buffs, they’ve often struggled to find theatrical audiences in the United States. Movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Pan’s Labyrinth, and Parasite—which became the first foreign film to win Best Picture at the Oscars—earned headlines for winning critical and commercial success despite Americans’ perceived distaste for subtitles.
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Demand for foreign content
That may be changing, though. One reason driving the change? Foreign-language entertainment is simply more popular in America compared to prior decades. IndieWire reported in 2024 that 54% of streaming users ages 18-64 watch foreign-language entertainment either sometimes or very often, according to an Ampere Analysis study. That’s a surge of 26% in just four years, when only 43% of respondents watched foreign-language film and TV in 2020.
Netflix’s Squid Game almost certainly contributed to that boost,roaring to international success in 2021 and paving the way for streamer investment in more foreign-language productions. Creative teams are taking notice, too, and increasingly view foreign languages as a tool for more profound, nuanced storytelling and immersion.
In a detailed feature for The New York Times, writer Brandon Yu examines hit films and series like the historical epic Shogun, which uses the Japanese language to establish verisimilitude and the protagonist’s vulnerability as a European foreigner.
Likewise, HBO’s The Sympathizer, directed by acclaimed Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, uses language for satirical effect as the Vietnamese protagonist, a secret Communist spy turned cultural consultant, injects subversive messages into a film unbeknownst to its American director. Indeed, Park has a history of creative linguistics. His 2016 psychosexual thriller The Handmaiden, set during the early 20th-century rule of Korea by imperial Japan,uses the countries’ respective languages to deepen its themes of dominance, control, subjugation, and liberation.
“I don’t think [the growing popularity of foreign-language entertainment] is just a temporary blip,” Minjeong Kim, the director of the Center for Asian and Pacific Studies at San Diego State University, told The New York Times. “The trend has shifted.”
Relationship to the audience
Productions like these emphasize the dangers of short-changing localization efforts. Poorly translated and implemented subtitles aren’t just an inconvenience—they can do real damage to the artistry and resonance of a project. But when a talented language team contributes their art, it showcases the power of film to erase international borders. Stockholm University learned as much in a 2022 study, with viewers readily noticing the translation errors and simplistic language of rushed, machine-translated subtitles.
Quality localization can impact more than movie and TV viewership, as many viewers use them for fashion or lifestyle inspiration. Squid Game, for instance, spiked searches for tracksuits, slip-on trainers, and red boiler suits by 9,900%, and marketers are increasingly realizing the potential of cross-marketing through streaming entertainment. It’s an important factor to remember when investing in localization efforts. As George Lucas proved with Star Wars, the real money is often in the merchandise, not the movie tickets.
Consider, too, the number of bilingual households in America: According to the US Census Bureau, 68 million people in America speak a language other than English at home, with almost 42 million of them being Spanish speakers. Perhaps it’s no surprise that Hispanic viewers are the most likely demographic to use subtitles in America, with 54% reporting regular use in a YouGov survey.
Beyond language
But there are reasons beyond language barriers to invest in quality subtitles. According to NPR, half of the 1,260 Americans polled in a Preply study reported regularly using subtitles both for foreign languages and hard-to-understand English soundtracks. The same study found that 55% say it’s harder to hear movie and show dialogue than it used to be, with 62% saying the problem is worse on streaming services.
“I just saw Mickey 17, the new Bong Joon Ho film,” ScreenCrush.com editor Matt Singer told NPR. “The lead actor Robert Pattinson, I think, does a very good job. But he’s doing a voice, a [soft] character voice and I was like, what? What did he say?”
The findings are backed by other studies, too. While YouGov found that more of their respondents preferred deactivating subtitles (53%, to be exact), they also learned that the practice of turning subtitles on was more common among younger viewers, with 63% of adults under 30 using them regularly.
The upshot? Viewers are simply finding movies more difficult to understand even if they know the language. The quest for ever-thinner TVs has forced manufacturers to use speakers that lack sonic heft—if you want to truly appreciate the audio design of a show, movie, or video game, you need headphones or an auxiliary sound system. Additionally, the sound design itself might be poorly planned or executed by the production team, or dialogue clarity might not be a creative priority (renowned director Christopher Nolan famously emphasizes dense, layered soundscapes over comprehensible vocals).
Quality is King
Whatever viewers’ reasons might be, it appears they’re following Korean director Bong Joon Ho’s plea upon winning Best Picture for Parasite to “overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles.” And that puts the onus on producers to ensure their localization investment matches the viewer’s demands. A quality effort pays off more than some might assume, both artistically and commercially.
