The conversation in Hollywood for at least the last five years has been how to get butts into theaters and to get theatrical exhibition numbers up.
I got into this business because I love seeing movies on the big screen, and I want that legacy to stay, and not go the way of niche things like ballet and opera, as Chalamet said the other day.
But the theatrical experience has been on a rollercoaster for the better part of a decade, and we keep hearing about the death of cinema, so let’s take a look at the numbers together.
Pew Research Findings
According to a comprehensive Pew Research Center survey conducted in late 2025, 53% of U.S. adults reported seeing a movie in a theater within the past year. While that represents more than half the country, it was also a reality check: the industry is still fighting to regain its pre-pandemic footprint.
I think most people in Hollywood want to know how to get that number around 70%.
But the most shocking statistic? 7% of Americans say they have never seen a movie in a theater at all.
These are numbers that matter to anyone who cares about this industry, from indie filmmakers to studio heads. We want people to view our projects.
So what does the road to recovery look like?
A Long Road to Recovery
I know people are pretty sick of hearing about COVID, but domestic ticket sales still have not recovered to the numbers we saw before 2020.
According to Nash Information Services data cited by Pew, the peak of moviegoing was in 2002, when 1.57 billion tickets were sold (nearly five per person).
We haven’t seen heights like that in a very long time.
- 2002: $16.4 billion in revenue (inflation-adjusted)
- 2020: Under $3 billion (the COVID-19 plunge)
- 2025: Just over $9 billion (per Comscore)
Last year, theaters sold 769.2 million tickets, which works out to be about two per person. We can be happy that’s more than triple the volume of 2020, but it is still roughly half of the 2002 peak, and way below the 1.2 billion tickets sold in 2019.
In order to get people back ot theaters and to sniff those numbers again, we have to figure out who is actually going to theaters and we need to make movies that cater to them. And also, maybe take some swings at bringing other demos back with movies for them as well.
These numbers will affect the greenlighting process at major studios.
‘La La Land’ Credit: Sony
The Demographic Breakdown of Movie-Goers
If you are a filmmaker trying to find your audience, the Pew data highlights several key divides that you should know about.
1. The Generational Gap
The theater is increasingly a young person’s game. We’re seeing those Gen-Z people show up and embrace theatrical in ways the boomers are definitely not.
- Ages 18–29: 67% attendance
- Ages 65+: 39% attendance
Older audiences used to be the reliable base for dramas and mid-budget films. But since we stopped making a lot of those films, they have fallen off.
You can see them theoretically staying home to stream those movies.
Whereas younger people who traditionally flock to blockbusters are showing up for stories aimed at them.
2. The Economic Barrier
Going to the movies has gotten very expensive. It’s no longer a cheap date or family outing. The cost of a night out is clearly impacting who goes to see movies.
- Upper Income: 64%
- Middle Income: 57%
- Lower Income: 43%
With tickets and concessions hitting record highs, moviegoing is becoming a luxury experience rather than a weekly habit for lower-income Americans. We have to find a way to work with theaters to keep the costs down.
3. Race and Ethnicity
Diversity remains the engine of the box office. Hispanic adults continue to lead the way in theatrical attendance, but I don’t have the numbers to find out if Hollywood is targeting them to keep coming. That kind of shift in marketing would be interesting, so we’ll try to keep an eye on it.
- Hispanic: 59%
- White: 53%
- Asian: 53%
- Black: 49%
4. Politics and Education
I find these numbers interesting because, for all the cries we see in Congress about who Hollywood is biased toward, it feels like a pretty even political spread when it comes to who’s going to the movies.
Democrats (58%) are more likely to attend than Republicans (50%), and those with postgraduate degrees (66%) attend at much higher rates than those with a high school education or less (41%).
But again, that could just be a factor of cost for some of these families as well.
What This Means for Filmmakers
When we see these numbers come through, we’re already thinking about what lessons filmmakers can take from this research.
If you’re in the trenches of production or distribution, these numbers seem to confirm a few hard truths:
- The “Never-Goers” are real: The 7% who have never seen a movie in a theater suggests a growing segment of the population that is entirely untethered from theatrical. For these viewers, cinema is streaming. There may not be a way to get to them.
- Eventize or Die: With attendance stalling at 53%, your film cannot just be “good,” it has to be an event that makes people feel like they have to be there. This is why we see studios leaning into IMAX, 4DX, and massive franchise installments. People talking about it drives people to want to see it.
- Diversify Your Casting and Marketing: The high engagement among Hispanic and younger audiences proves that if you want to fill seats, your stories need to reflect the people actually buying the tickets.
Summing It All Up
This was a lot to unpack, but it made for a super interesting read. It was difficult to see the struggles of movies laid out, but I think it’s good to recognize this and to plan accordingly.
What do you think? Are these numbers a sign of a healthy “new normal” or a warning of a permanent decline?
Let us know in the comments.