61% Of Americans Didn’t Go To A Movie Theater Last Year, Poll Finds

Topline

More than half of all Americans didn’t go to movie theaters last year, despite blockbuster releases like Black Widow and Shang Chi, according to a new Gallup poll released Friday, as Americans still express hesitancy to return to theaters amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Key Facts

Some 61% of adults told Gallup they didn’t visit a movie theater at all over the course of 2021, a historic high, while 31% said they saw between one and four movies in theaters and 9% attended five or more.

Adults in the U.S. saw an average of 1.4 movies in movie theaters in 2021, down from an average 4.8 movies viewed between 2001 and 2007, the last time Gallup conducted the same poll.

Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 saw an average of 3.2 movies, while people between the ages of 30-49 saw an average of 1.4 movies and those over the age of 50 averaged less than 0.8 movies.

Gallup polled 811 adults across the United States between December 1 and 16, before the release of 2021’s top grossing international and domestic film, Spider-Man: No Way Home.

A similar study from Morning Consult released on Wednesday showed that 53% of U.S. adults were still uncomfortable going back to theaters – especially those over the age of 40 – but younger people felt more confident returning to theaters.

Both studies note that theater visits may be down due to coronavirus fears and more competition from at-home streaming options.

Surprising Fact

About one in five adults told Morning Consult they would feel comfortable returning to movie theaters after 6 months or more, while 18% of adults said they think they would be comfortable returning within the next month.

Big Number

$4.55 billion. That’s how much revenue the U.S. domestic box office brought in for 2021, according to Comscore, which analyzes box office metrics. That is up more than 100% from 2020, but down 60% from pre-pandemic 2019’s revenue of $11.4 billion.

Key Background

Movie theaters in 2021 strived to make a comeback from 2020’s pandemic-related closures, releasing more big-budget films. However, theaters had to compete with some streaming platforms like HBO Max and Disney Plus, as Warner Bros. and Disney opted to release some movies on their streaming services on the same date as movie premieres in theaters. While some theaters like AMC and Cinemark posted losses in their most recent quarter earnings, they also noted that revenues are up compared to last year.

Further Reading

Hollywood’s 2021 Challenge: Foreign Box Office Elusive Despite ‘Spider-Man’ Success (Forbes)

Box Office Ends Year 60 Percent Behind 2019 With $4.5B Domestically (The Hollywood Reporter)

The 4 biggest movies at the US box office in 2021 were all Marvel. Here were the other top performers. (Business Insider)

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