What can movie theaters do to bring audiences back?
What can movie theaters do to bring audiences back?
A new survey by Octane Seating shows most Americans prefer to stream their movies, but theaters can take steps to lure audiences back in.
What will help bring Americans back to movie theaters? The CEO of AMC recently shared his thoughts on the matter, saying that he believed giving theatrical releases longer windows before heading to streaming would be beneficial for streaming services and cinema chains alike. A newly minted four-time Oscar winner made his case at last weekend’s Academy Awards, and now a survey from Octane Seating has insights on the topic. The results provide theater operators some tips on bringing customers back into the fold, even if it might be a tough pill to swallow for distributors.
Key Details:
- The survey shows that 78% of Americans prefer to watch movies on streaming instead of theaters.
- Millennials are leading the streaming charge, but Gen Z leads all age groups in theater attendance.
- More than 70% of respondents said lower ticket prices would convince them to head to the theater more often.
Octane Seating’s survey found that 78% of Americans now prefer to watch movies at home via streaming than go to the theater. Millennials are at the forefront of this movement, as 70% of this group stream movies at home every single day. One in four Americans would rather stream a brand-new release at home than see it on the big screen.
Surprisingly, it’s Gen Z cinephiles who are headed to the cinema to watch a movie most often. One out of every three Gen Z respondents to Octane Seating’s survey say they go to a movie in theaters more than once each month.
So what can theaters do to improve attendance? Lowering prices would be a good start. Seventy-eight percent of respondents to the survey said they would go to the theater more often if ticket prices were lower. In addition, 57% admit they sneak their own food into theaters to avoid high concession prices.
Making theaters safer and cleaner could also bring audiences back. Almost one out of every four respondents say they don’t feel safe at the cinema, and 59% want cleaner theaters. Making these changes wouldn’t bring back all lapsed moviegoers who would now rather stream movies at home, but they would likely help bring revenues a bit closer to what cinema chains enjoyed before the COVID-19 pandemic changed so much about the way Americans watch movies. Obviously lowering the price of tickets and concessions, as well as paying for more staff to secure and clean facilities, is risky financially for theaters, but if they want to survive long term, it might be their best bet.
Some streamers have seen the wisdom in making closer alliances with theaters; Apple TV+ and Prime Video have made sizable financial investments in crafting movies for theatrical release before moving them to streaming. But Netflix continues to resist the idea of theatrical releases for its original movies, so the portion of the population that prefers to stream movies at home will likely remain considerable going forward.
Prime Video
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