What are Gen Z audiences looking for when they go to the movies? It’s an increasingly important question for theatre owners, since Gen Z represents the fastest growing demographic of moviegoers according to a recent report from Cinema United, showing a 25% increase in visits to theatres over the past year. Puck journalist Matthew Belloni attempted to dive into Gen Z moviegoing predilections with his own anecdotal survey of teens, fortified by a more scientific sampling of Gen Z attitudes conducted by Kevin Goetz, the founder and CEO of the research firm Screen Engine.
Goetz conducted a study of 200 high school-aged teens probing their views on moviegoing. The results of Belloni’s casual focus group and Goetz’s study were similar, showing that Gen Z audiences consider moviegoing as a fun, old-school way to gather together. Put more eloquently in Goetz’s report, moviegoing provides a “critical physical environment for social gathering, community bonding, and collective emotional expression.”
Gen Z’ers are also acutely critical of Hollywood’s reliance on franchises. “Marvel was making too many, so it’s good to slow down,” said one teen in Goetz’s study. The respondents also had a cynical view of “Hollywood” and its leaders, viewing studio leaders as greedy and creatively bankrupt. They also showed scant loyalty to any specific actor, actress or director. Rather, they are motivated by what digital influencers and friends post on social media. The social media platform Letterboxd, Rotten Tomatoes, and in-theatre trailers were found to have the most influence with Goetz’s respondents on whether they decide to see a specific film.
