Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” movie has been a smash hit success on every level, and it turns out it also had a big impact on a good portion of its audience.
Film tracking service The Quorum (via Variety) has conducted a new survey of nearly 2,000 “Barbie” ticket buyers in the U.S. over the past three weeks and discovered something interesting.
It turns out that for 11% of respondents, “Barbie” was the first film they had seen in a theater since the pandemic started in 2020. Another 11% also “couldn’t remember the last film they had seen in a theater”.
That means nearly a quarter of moviegoers surveyed potentially missed seeing the likes of “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home” or “Avatar: The Way of Water” on the big screen but were drawn out by the lady in pink.
If that figure were to hold across all of North America, it would mean around nine million people came back to the multiplex for the first time in a very long time – all thanks to “Barbie”.
Those surveyed aren’t reluctant filmgoers either – 46% of respondents say they go to movies “all the time,” whilst 32% go occasionally.
40% of respondents say the experience reminded them of why they love movies and would go more often. Interestingly 45% say they would go more but cost is an issue.
