Jul 8, 2020
Movie theatres face tough odds enticing older filmgoers back
Bloomberg News
,No need for assistance amid COVID-19 pandemic because of strong balance sheet: IMAX CEO
Movie theatre have already faced plenty of challenges in attempting to reopen from their pandemic shutdown: mask requirements, state guidelines that change by the day and a dearth of new movies.
But one of their biggest hurdles may be luring back older filmgoers. Just nine per cent of baby boomers -- people born 1946 to 1964 -- are enthusiastic about returning to theatres, according to a Morning Consult and Bloomberg News survey of 2,200 U.S. adults. An additional 21 per cent are somewhat interested, but the majority aren’t looking forward to sitting in a darkened theatres with strangers again.
The overall picture isn’t much better. Only about a third of all adults are at least somewhat interested in returning to theatres. But the chains will have an easier time enticing the young, who the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found are less at risk of serious illness from COVID-19.
Seventeen percent of millennials were looking forward “a lot” to going to the movies, with an additional 20 per cent “somewhat” interested, the survey found. Gen Z, the generation born after 1997, were even more eager -- with 23 per cent saying they were very interested in returning. The survey was conducted June 26-28.
The pandemic struck a blow to an industry already struggling to compete with home video. According to a survey of 1,000 people from Performance Research in partnership with Full Circle Research, 70 per cent would rather watch first-run movies at home.
Streaming-video viewing surged during coronavirus lockdowns, and most people aren’t looking to get up off the couch anytime soon. The Morning Consult survey found that 59 per cent of respondents won’t change their streaming habits with the waning of the pandemic and reopening of movie theatres.
“Hamilton,” the Broadway musical turned movie, gave a snapshot of the state of the industry. The film debuted on Walt Disney Co.’s streaming service last week after a theatrical release was canceled. It was such a draw that the Disney+ app was downloaded as much as one million times over the weekend.