11 months ago
Theaters Invest in Enhanced Experiences to Attract Moviegoers
Movie theaters are spending a lot of money to make going to the movies better!
They're adding bigger screens, super loud sound systems, and comfy seats.
These upgrades are attracting more people, even though ticket sales haven't fully recovered yet.
People are willing to pay extra for the upgraded experience.
Theaters hope that by offering something special, they can get more people to come back.
They believe that watching a movie on a big screen is a unique experience that can't be matched at home.
While ticket sales have declined overall, premium formats help to offset some of the decline.
Theaters are investing in upgrades to attract moviegoers.
AMC, Regal Cinemas, and Cinemark are among those investing in upgrades.
Upgraded auditoriums attract close to three times the occupancy of a regular theater.
Premium formats account for a record percentage of ticket sales.
Theaters charge an average of $5 per ticket premium for these experiences.
- Who
- Theater chains and moviegoers
- What
- Theaters are investing in upgrades to lure moviegoers back
- Where
- North America and globally
- When
- Recent past and ongoing investments
- Why
- To recover revenue lost and provide a unique experience
Key facts
- Investment by Chains
- Over $1.5 billion in upgrades in the past year
- Premium Format Ticket Sales
- 14.9% of all tickets sold in U.S. and Canada this year
- Average Premium Ticket Price
- $5 per ticket
- Decline in Ticket Sales Since 2019
- 23%
- Global Screens with Enhanced Formats
- Nearly 6,000
Quotes
Cory Jacobson
President and owner of Phoenix Theatres
“In terms of seating, picture quality and sound quality, it's got to be better than what you can get at home”
deccanchronicle.com
Eric Wold
Analyst at Texas Capital Securities
“The box office can get back to where it was pre-pandemic, but that's really going to be driven by the higher prices and (premium large formats), versus attendance actually coming back”
deccanchronicle.com
Michael O’Leary
President and CEO of Cinema United
“The reinvestment that we're doing is evidence of the fact that we believe that seeing a movie on the big screen is unique and cannot be matched anywhere”
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Magnolia Neu
Moviegoer
“If it weren't for the large format or premium screening, I probably would not pay money to go to the movies in the first place”
deccanchronicle.com
Paul Dergarabedian
Comscore senior media analyst
“If movie theaters were not recovering -- which they've done, pretty amazingly considering they were shut down in March of 2020 -- premium wouldn't even be on the table”
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