Good news for movie theaters still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and other industry disruptions: A new UCLA study found that teens’ favorite activity is go to the cinema.
The latest installment of the university’s “Teens and Screens” report, which surveyed 1,500 American youth ages 10 to 24, identifies going to see a movie on opening weekend. as a favorite pastime of adolescents when cost, transportation and other barriers are taken out of the equation.
In this age group, movies are above sports, video games, streaming movies or TV shows on personal devices, and other forms of entertainment.
However, when considering cost and other barriers, 39.2% of teens chose playing video games as their favorite activity rather than watching TV or movies (33.3%) or browsing online. social networks (27.5%).
“The tradition really is that all they care about is social media and YouTube and streaming and bingeing, and that the movie business is dead,” said Yalda Uhls, executive director of the Center for Scholars and Storytellers at UCLA.
“I used to believe in the idea that kids aren’t as interested in movies. But the reality is that when you ask them, they really care.
Movie theaters need all the youthful enthusiasm they can get. Box office ticket sales in the United States and Canada are down 11% from last year and remain significantly below pre-pandemic levels, according to Comscore.
Uhls, a former movie executive, said studios tend to ignore the teenage population and to effectively tap into that market they need to do a better job of reaching out to young people from diverse backgrounds and taking into account their habits and preferences. . account.
“Do your research,” Uhls said. “If you’re creating content for teens, think about the experience all teens have.”
So what do teenagers want to see on screen?
According to the UCLA report, 36.2% of adolescents prefer fantasy to other genres; 63.5% favor stories of friendship and platonic relationships rather than love stories; and 62.4% believe sex scenes are not necessary to advance the plot of TV shows and movies. (Only survey participants aged 14 and over were asked about their opinions on on-screen sex.)
Each of these totals saw a huge increase (at least 39%) from last year’s study.
At the other end of the spectrum, only 7.2% of young people enjoy movies and TV shows about the rich and famous; while 13.9% say they want to watch films and series that address real-life issues that impact society.
Amid all the news about shootings, climate change, injustice, politics, war, and other real-world issues dominating the news and social media, kids need an escape, Uhls said. And not just in the form of superhero films.
“It feels like that’s all we give them,” Uhls said. “They want to see a wider range.”
On the exhibition side, theaters can attract more teens by offering event screenings (encouraging patrons to wear costumes to the show, for example) and offering group discounts to young people, Uhls said.
“It’s just that typical cinematic experience,” Uhls added. “They all love it like I did growing up…and if you give it to them, they will come.”