Reviving Entertainment Industry Insights

Like Awakening from a Coma The movie theater and other entertainment industries were comatose during summer 2020. The devastation the pandemic caused began to reverse during 2021, but not until the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home during December. North American box office receipts increased 101.36% from 2020 s $2.28 billion to $4.58 billion for 2021 and then another 64.3% increase for 2022 to a total of $7.53 billion. Keep in mind, however, 2019 North American receipts were $11.4 billion. According to Placer.ai, 2022 visits to movie theaters increased 53.5% compared to 2021 while 2022 casino visits increased only 1% compared to 2021 and 2022 visits to eatertainment chains (Dave & Busters, etc.) increased 17.3% compared to 2021.

Bright Lights and Unlimited Popcorn Unsurprisingly, the top three US and Canadian theater circuits were operating fewer sites as of March 2023 compared to 2022: AMC Entertainment, from 600 to 591; Regal Cinemas, from 514 to 478; and Cinemark, from 323 to 318. Surprisingly, so few were closed. Although there were just 71 movies released to 2,000 or more screens during 2022, compared to 112 during 2019, the average box office receipts for those 71 releases were $91.71 million, compared to $90.25 million for the 119 2019 releases. Analysis by Placer.ai found 2022 theater visits increased during the evening (6 pm 1 am), indicating more people were returning to a traditional night out. At AMC Theatres, Regal Cinemas and Cinemark, those 2022 evening visits exceeded 2019 evening visits.

Movie Lovers Insights Gen Zers have always been the prime audience for movie theaters. According to Placer.ai, AMC Theaters, Cinemark and Regal Cinemas had more Gen Zers in their trade areas during 2022 than 2019 and primarily because of investments in better sound and picture quality. According to a 2023 report from UTA IQ, two-thirds of surveyed consumers said how quickly a movie is first released in theaters and is then available at home doesn t affect whether they will visit a theater to watch a movie. Even more of the survey participants, or 75%, said they plan to go to theaters more often or the same as last year during 2023. Just 28% said the abundance of movies viewable at home is why they don t visit theaters as much or never visit.

More Movie Lovers Insights Unsurprisingly, ticket-purchasing data from Movio shows more than 60% of adults 18 34 buy movie tickets via a cinema-owned online platform while just less than 60% of adults 55+ buy their movie tickets at the theater. Research from The Harris Poll survey found 58% of respondents said action-adventure movies were better to watch in a theater than at home, followed by 39% for thrillers and 27% for comedies. The Quorum discovered in a survey of moviegoers that 52% want more comedy movies at theaters, with the action/thriller genre second at 49% and then horror (42%), drama (36%) and romance (29%).

More Movie Lovers Insights Considering the immersive theater experience, a study from Lumen, a research technology company, and National CineMedia (NCM), the largest cinema advertising network in the US, revealed cinema s attention scores are 4x 7X greater than all other video channels. Almost 100% of a cinema audience watched :60 ads (99%), :30 ads (97%) and :15 ads (95%) while the largest percentage for linear TV was 43% for :60 ads and the largest percentage for CTV was 37% for :60 ads. Westwood One makes the case for more cinema advertising on audio platforms in recent research. 42% of heavy podcast listeners said they often go to a movie theater, followed by 28% of heavy ad-supported audio streamers and 23% of heavy AM/FM radio listeners.

Parents and the Movie Rating System According to a fall 2022 Movie Picture Association (MPA) survey, 86% of parents were either extremely familiar (50%) or very familiar (36%) with the MPA rating system. Of those surveyed, 53% agreed strongly the ratings are helpful and 52% agreed strongly the rating descriptors are helpful. Fewer, however, agreed strongly the ratings are accurate at 36% and the descriptors accurate at 38%. 95% of parents said they look for information on movie ratings and descriptors, with the most looking online at 70%, from an SVOD/streaming service at 56%, movie trailers/previews at theaters at 49% and on television at 34%.

Advertising Strategies Of all media advertising spending to promote movies during 2022, TV received 58.3%; however, this is likely missing many young adults, the prime movie audience, because TV viewing skews older. Theaters are likely to attract more young adults on audio platforms. As more Americans are returning to the traditional night out, theaters can partner with nearby restaurants or bars to promote the inclusion of a digital coupon from those establishments to be used the same evening when buying movie tickets for a couple. A tried-and-true theater promotion that may be more appealing during summer 2023 is a special, late-evening showing where patrons are invited to dress appropriately for the movie and ask the audience to vote for the best costume after the show and award prizes.

New Media Strategies When using social media to announce what TV shows and music concerts will be offered, theaters should consider either a bi-lingual post or separate posts in English and Spanish to appeal to Latinx American men and women younger than 35. As more older adults use social media regularly, theaters can offer a discount or some other incentive to adults 55+ who purchase their tickets via theaters online platforms rather than purchasing them at the theater upon arrival. Because parents who take young children to the movies are primarily Millennials, use social media to share more detailed information about the MPA ratings of scheduled movies and to address parents content concerns.