Results from an expansive survey of 96,000 consumers in 14 countries indicates that the appetite for moviegoing remains high, despite a mixed year at the box office. The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) commissioned a third-party research firm to ask moviegoers for feedback on their interest in and practices of going to the movies. The generally positive response is an encouraging sign for the industry.
Among U.S. audiences, 76% of those responding indicated that they had gone to the movies at least once over the past year. That figure is in line with pre-pandemic levels, with over 200M movie tickets sold, a larger in-person audience than the sum total of all NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL games combined. The survey also found that moviegoing remained the top-rated activity to do on the weekend for Gen Z women and the second rated activity for Gen Z men. Latinos were the most engaged ethnic group in moviegoing, representing a disproportionate percentage of those who report seeing “six or more movies in a year” and going to a movie in its opening weekend.
Interest is growing in having an “experiential” theatrical experience, prompting leading exhibitors to invest over $2.2 billion in upgrades to projectors, sound, seating, concessions and other appealing amenities. But while the premium format is an important attraction, NATO’s report emphasized the need for studios to offer a varied slate of theatrical releases, saying “smaller and medium-budgeted films must find a place” and citing that “only 9 percent of the annual domestic box office” comes from premium large format auditoriums. The report called out horror films and comedies as reliable performers among the low to mid-budget titles.