By Gavin Boyle
Theaters have continued to struggle since the pandemic, but Gen Z’s enthusiasm for watching movies in theaters despite coming of age in the streaming era could be the boost they need.
“While there has been a perception that Gen Z is less engaged with theatrical moviegoing, our data shows that their momentum has been building,” said Jerramy Hainline, an executive at Fandango. “What’s especially notable is how strongly they value the shared, communal aspect of the experience, reinforcing that theaters continue to play an important role as a social destination for younger audiences.”
Related: Gen Z Could Save Hollywood. Here’s How.
“As the moviegoing landscape continues to evolve, understanding generational behaviors is critical to unlocking future growth,” Hainline added. “Gen Z and millennials are redefining what it means to go to the movies by prioritizing premium experiences, social engagement and new forms of content. Meeting them where they are isn’t optional — it’s essential to the future of theatrical moviegoing.”
The result of this trend is that uplifting stories have the most success, while premium formats like IMAX continue to grow. Since the pandemic IMAX has tremendously grown its market share and movies have fought for screen time with these experiences.
“The second quarter offered strong evidence that we are at an inflection point in our business; we are on a tear with strong system sales activity,” Imax CEO Rich Gelfond said during a Q2 2024 report. “Our system installations are up significantly, and the slate through 2026 is as strong as we’ve ever seen.”
Gen Z leading the theatrical audience helps explain why morally grounded movies continue to outperform their immoral peers, as Gen Z desires family-friendly, uplifting stories. Furthermore, the younger generation values novel plots rather than long standing IPs.
“There’s no question about it — Gen Z likes going to the movies, and they do so more often than older audiences,” said Ray Subers, head of film at research firm NRG. “It’s critical to the industry’s future that studios prioritize these 21st century brands over older IP that mainly resonates with the 35-plus and 45-plus crowd. Gen Zers don’t want their parents’ franchises.”
Hollywood will need to follow the desires of Gen Z in order to continue to be successful and maintain the momentum that the theater industry has seen in the past two years. Given their values, this is good news, as it will force Hollywood to produce morally sound, uplifting stories, rather than the immoral, excessive movies that the industry likes to promote.
Read Next: What Does Gen Z Really Think About Streaming?
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