Even before COVID happened, movie theaters were struggling. The pandemic just made things exponentially worse in the short term. But as we approach the end of 2021, cinemas are hoping a big rebound is around the corner. However, if a new study (via The New York Times) is to be believed, that recovery might happen a lot slower than anticipated, if theaters don’t do some proactive things to entice folks to come back.
The new study was self-commissioned by the Quorum, Cultique, and Fanthropology. The groups intend to conduct this same survey each quarter to discover trends. And if you’re someone who works as an executive at a cinema chain, you’re hoping perhaps this first study is a bit of a fluke. Otherwise, there are some truly troubling results.
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The main takeaways are interesting and somewhat frightening for the exhibition industry. Out of the over 2,500 people surveyed, who admit to purchasing movie tickets in 2019, 51% said they had recently bought a movie ticket (translation—returned to movie theaters since the start of the pandemic). Of that very small majority, most of the respondents are white men between the ages of 25 and 45.
And if you can do the quick math, you know that means 49% of the folks who went to films in 2019 have yet to return to the multiplex since the pandemic began. That’s an absolutely massive number. But to be fair, this shouldn’t be completely shocking given how small box office totals have been over the past year. Though, that trend seems to be getting better, as “Spider-Man: No Way Home” pre-sales are pretty great. Within the aforementioned 49%, the majority of those people are female and have a focus on “price and value.” So, regardless of gender, it’s clear that people who are interested in saving money (since finances are a sore subject for many people as a result of the pandemic) aren’t willing to spend those exorbitant prices on tickets and concessions.
Finally, the last bit of surprising news is that 8% of people surveyed are deemed “likely lost” customers, meaning they don’t see themselves going back to a cinema at all in the future. Of that group, the majority are lower-income folks, with a large proportion of Hispanic, Black and Asian women. Of course, it’s hard to know if that number is much higher than we’ve been experiencing in the past, with theaters struggling to entice people into their cinemas unless it’s for big blockbusters. Perhaps, some of those people would have been “lost” anyway?
All told, the survey isn’t full of good news for cinema chains hoping to see a big resurgence in 2022. It appears the cost of tickets and concessions is still keeping people away, especially those with a strong focus on budgeting. So, we’ll have to see if cinema chains will adapt to these times, offering better discounts and cheaper prices to retain customers. Because if not, we could be in for some rough times for exhibitors.
