Factors for infrequent cinema visits in the US and Britain

Recently, a cinema chain in the UK took advantage of the heatwave news and offered free movie tickets to red heads. Are movie theaters running so empty that cinema chains are willing to give free tickets?

Data from YouGov Global Profiles, an audience intelligence tool, shows over a fifth of Americans go to cinemas less often than once a year, rising to a quarter in Britain (26%). A further 8% of Americans and 9% of Brits only visit once a year.

While Covid-19 may have suppressed visits, one of the factors contributing to these infrequent cinema visits might be that not many are willing to trade their couches for movie seats.

In fact a majority of Americans and Britons sat they don’t prefer to watch movies when they come out at the cinema. However the better news for cinema owners is that about a third (29% and 33%) do like to watch films when they come out.

About three-quarters of Americans and two thirds of Britons say they find it too expensive to visit a cinema, with the former finding it more costly (73% vs 69%). The excessive costs of the cinema and concessions are a factor that might have contributed to less footfall.

With a potential recession looming in the UK and inflation hurting American wallets, cinema chains are likely to suffer. In related news, it is worthwhile to know where consumers are tightening their belts as global inflation rises.

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Methodology

YouGov Global Profiles is a globally consistent audience dataset with 1000+ questions across 43 markets. The data is based on continuously collected data from adults aged 18+ years. The sample sizes for YouGov Global Profiles will fluctuate over time, however the minimum sample size is always c.1000. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample. Learn more about Global Profiles.