Moviegoers May Visit Theaters Again If Ticket Cost Reduces, As Per Study

Things might look up for the theater industry if they focus on reducing their costs and making vaccination certificates compulsory, found a recent study.

The survey interviewed more than 25,000 pre-COVID moviegoers with a mix of frequent and infrequent audiences. Three companies commissioned the report – Quorum, a film research company; Cultique, a brand consulting firm; and Fanthropology, a research, and strategy agency.

As per Variety’s study report, 49% of the people responded that they don’t visit the cinemas anymore. While the first reason that springs to mind might be the comfort of streaming, the reasons for the surveyed individuals are something else altogether.

Safety and expensive tickets, along with overly expensive snacks, were the main reasons listed by moviegoers.

More than half, 59% of them, stated safety concerns as their main reason for not visiting the theaters. Among them, 33% said making COVID vaccination certificates mandatory would make them feel safer.

Meanwhile, 70% of avid theater audiences and 66% of infrequent audiences expressed concerns about ticket costs. The people surveyed said they would watch movies in theaters if the tickets weren’t as expensive. Another 65% complained about the snacks being too expensive.

Reducing ticket costs might seem like a solution, but it will be tricky. Even before COVID, theaters earned their profits through the snacks and ticket costs, as a specific chunk from the ticket would go to the production companies.

Even before the pandemic, box office theater sales have been plummeting due to every company jumping on the streaming bandwagon. The COVID-19 pandemic made it much worse.

As Marvel stays on top, attracting people to the theaters the most (even though struggling) with the likes of Shang-Chi, Black Widow, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, it’s difficult for other movies to grab the audience’s attention.

There is still some hope. As per the report, 58% of moviegoers do believe they’ll return to the theaters, but 16% also say they won’t.

The survey does help movie theaters discover what might attract the pandemic-era audience, shedding light on what the perception has skewed. However, reducing ticket and snack costs for an already struggling industry might be a long shot.

Source: Variety