People use different mechanisms to quench their thirst for entertainment, information andrncommunication. There are myriad of entertainment alternatives and film is among those whichrnattract numerous number of audiences. Movies play a pivotal role in relaying messages in arnmanner that is based on the interest of a particular target audience. Over the past few years thernnumber of films produced and movie-goers have increased. It is not uncommon to hear peoplerncriticizing our local films for being narrow, lack of originality, and for their superficial & similarrnplots. Even though there is a big appetite for various film genres with different themes, many ofrnthe films that are being released seem to revolve around only romance, drama, tragedy andrncomedy. The purpose of the study was to describe factors that determine film genre preference ofrnaudiences. Theoretical and empirical literatures were reviewed to formulate the hypotheses of thernstudy. To accomplish the objectives of the study a survey of 400 audiences found at the threerngovernment owned cinemas (Cinema Ampere, Cinema Ethiopia, and Ambassador Cinema) wasrnconducted. Deductive approach, descriptive research design and quantitative research methodrnwere employed in order to conduct the study Survey questionnaire was used as a strategicrninstrument to gather the required primary data from the sample population. The descriptive andrninferential analyses of the collected data were conducted with the help of SPSS version 20. Thernkey finding attained from the hypotheses tested using chi square indicated that gender, age, andrnlevel of education did have a strong association with film genre preference of the respondents. Itrnwas further revealed that action, war, horror, crime, suspense, and adventure were cited as filmsrnthe audiences would like to watch locally made. Advertising, poster, word-of-mouth, budget,rndirector, and publicity were found to be other factors that influenced film genre preference of thernaudiences. Eventually, some recommendations to alleviate the problems associated withrnEthiopian film industry and suggestions for future research were made.