While 41% of all film tickets sold in North America in 2019 went to those aged 40 or over, those numbers are expected to change in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Market research group Dynata (via THR) asked filmgoers in eleven territories, including North America, how eager they were to go back to the movies and discovered the demographics have shifted.
The Gen Z audience aged 25 or under are the only group where a majority (60%) plan to return to cinemas fast. The majority of over 25s will come back ‘relatively slowly’ or ‘not at all’ and the majority of over 55s are in ‘no hurry’ to return.
Ampere Analysis argues that post lockdown, 65% of cinema ticket revenue will come from millennials and Gen Z, older audiences will only make up 35% and Baby Boombers just 14%.
Such numbers could have a big impact on which films are released with grown-up dramas out and art house releases likely being pushed more and more to VOD or PVOD while youth-skewing fare dominates the multiplexes.
In addition weekday screenings, where elderly customers make up the majority, could be even more barren.
