A recent survey shows three quarters of U.S. adults said they watched a new movie on streaming rather than heading to the theater((Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON - U.S. moviegoers are opting to watch newly released movies from the comfort of their own homes instead of heading to a theater, according to a new poll.
Majority of Americans stream movies
About three-quarters of U.S. adults said they watched a new movie on streaming instead of in the theater at least once in the past year.
The backstory:
According to the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, three quarters of U.S. adults said they watched a new movie on streaming rather than heading to the theater and about 3 in 10 who watched new movies on streaming at least once a month.
The survey found that about two-thirds of Americans said that they’ve watched a recently released movie in a theater in the past year, and only 16% said they went at least once a month.
The results suggest American moviegoers are more likely to stream a film rather than see it in the theaters, a shift that was accelerated during the pandemic and its aftermath. Convenience and cost are both factors for many people who can’t find the time to go to a theater or pay the increasingly high price for a ticket.
Streaming is more convenient
In the post-pandemic era, films are on streaming services quicker. In 2017, films were in theaters exclusively for 90 days and now theaters are pushing for an industrywide standard of 45 days. For studios, the strategy seems to be different for every movie. This year’s Oscar best picture winner, "Anora," had a 70-day exclusive theatrical window while "Wicked," was available to purchase on demand only 40 days after opening in theaters — and that was a case in which the film was, and continued to be, a box-office hit. It was also profitable on streaming.
There is some overlap between theatergoers and people who opt for streaming. The survey found that 55% of U.S. adults have seen a new movie in a theater and skipped the theater in favor of streaming at least once in the past year — but only watching new movies on streaming is more common than only going to the theater.
What they're saying:
Sherry Jenkins, 69, of New Jersey, turns to streaming for all of her moviegoing needs.
"It’s much more convenient," Jenkins said. "I can watch anything I want, I just have to wait a month or two after the movies are released because they usually go to streaming pretty quickly."
Maryneal Jones, 91, of North Carolina, said she likes to go to the movies but finds them too expensive.
"There’s some movies I would like to see, and I say to myself, I’ll just wait until they show them on TV or I’ll go visit a friend who has those apps," Jones said. "But I just don’t want to pay 12 bucks."
By the numbers:
According to data firm EntTelligence, the average cost of a movie ticket in the U.S. is $13.1. In 2022, it was $11.76. The AP-NORC poll also indicates that streaming may be a more accessible option for lower-income Americans. Higher-income adults are more likely than low-income adults to be at least occasional moviegoers for new releases, but the gap is smaller for watching movies on streaming instead of going to the theater.
Young adults stream movies :
New movies are more popular among young adults, regardless of how they see them with streaming the go-to option for the younger generation.
Slightly less than half of adults under age 30 say they watched a recently released movie on streaming instead of going to the theater at least once a month in the past year, compared with about 2 in 10 who watched a movie in the theater with that frequency.
While streaming will continue to be formidable competition for audience attention and dollars, there has also been rising interest in the value of seeing certain films in IMAX or on other premium format screens, whether it’s "Sinners" or "Oppenheimer."
The North American box office is currently up more than 4% from last year, but the industry has struggled to reach pre-pandemic levels of business. Compared with 2019, the annual box office is down more than 22%.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press and NORC at the University of Chicago.