Empty Seats According to National Association of Theatre Owners data, total 2017 US/Canada box office gross revenues were $11.091 billion, a 2.5% decrease from 2016’s record amount of $11.372 billion, and the lowest total since 2014’s $10.4 billion. The decline in total box office revenues for 2017 were a result of a 5.9% decrease in total US/Canada admissions, or 1.236 billion, compared to 1.314 billion for 2016, and the lowest total since 1995’s 1.211 billion. A 3.7% increase in the average US ticket price during 2017, or $8.97 compared to $8.65 for 2016, couldn’t offset these declines. Another negative factor may have been a reduction in the number of cinema sites to 5,398 for 2017 from 2016’s 5,472.

International Market Generates Excellent Revenues While total 2017 US/Canada box office revenues decreased, the international market’s revenues increased 7.7% to $29.5 billion from 2016’s $27.4 billion, and represented 73% of total global box office revenues, or $40.6 billion. The Asia Pacific region continues to lead among the three measured regions, with $16.0 billion in total 2017 box revenues, or a 6.7% increase, although the Latin American region had the largest increase, or 21.4%, from 2016’s $2.8 billion to $3.4 billion No doubt, the huge increase in the number of digital screens in the international market, or 121.4% from 2016 to 2017, compared to just 1.3% in the US/Canada market, contributed substantially to the international box office performance.

Almost Everyone Goes to the Movies According to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), 76% of the population of the US and Canada, or 263.2 million people, watched a movie at a theater during 2017, with each moviegoer purchasing an average of 4.7 tickets. During 2017, moviegoers, by gender, were equally 50/50 men and women, however, slightly more men, 51%, than women, 49%, purchased tickets, since men, on average, bought 3.7 tickets compared to 3.4 for women. Frequent moviegoers (once a month or more) purchased 49% of all 2017 tickets. Occasional moviegoers (less than once a month) also purchased 49% of tickets, while infrequent moviegoers (once per 12 months) purchased 2% of tickets.

Everyone Goes to the Movies, Part 2 Latino Americans had the largest per capita attendance by ethnicity, or 4.5 times throughout 2017; followed by Asian Americans, 4.3; other ethnicities, 4.2; African Americans, 3.4; and Caucasian Americans, 3.2. Caucasian Americans were 58% of all 2017 moviegoers and purchased 55% of all tickets; Latino Americans, 20% and 23%, respectively; African Americans, 13% and 12%, respectively; and Asian Americans, 6% and 7%, respectively. Caucasian Americans, however, had the largest number of frequent moviegoers, or 23.5 million, compared to Latino Americans, 10.3 million; African Americans, 4.5 million; Asian Americans, 3.5 million; and others, 1.5 million.

Cinema Advertising Captures Consumers’ Attention Although final numbers are not currently available, 2017 US cinema ad spending was forecasted to total $798.6 million, which would be a 5.3% increase over 2016. Screenvision, which had the largest number of US theaters, or 2,313, as of October 2017, announced during February 2018 it has partnered with Movio, a film-industry data analytics firm to provide advertisers with advanced predictive analytics. According to an ERm Research study for Screenvision, cinema advertising can provide better value than commercials aired during big- event TV programs, such as the 2017 Academy Awards broadcast.

Consumers Embrace MoviePass MoviePass is a movie-ticket subscription service, with approximately 2 million members as of March 2018. It reduced its monthly rate to $9.95 from $50.00 when Helios and Matheson Analytics acquired a majority stake in the company. With the average ticket price during 2017 at $8.97 and the monthly MoviePass subscription fee $9.95, one might think this would negatively affect its revenues; however, Helios and Matheson’s goal is to collect a large amount of viewing behavior. During March 2018, MoviePass announced a partnership with Landmark Theatres, an independent theater chain, allowing members to use their subscription at Landmark’s 255 screens in 53 theaters.

Advertising Strategies Local movie houses may find it advantageous to advertise on local TV news to reach its large older viewership with appropriate film releases since a large percentage of moviegoers and ticket buyers are 50 years of age and older. Local advertisers are likely to maximize the reach of their ad dollars with a combination of TV and cinema advertising, including ads on the entertainment page of your station’s Website. Suggest to local, independent and/or art house movie theaters that late-night TV is where they are likely to find much of their audience and the affordability of that time slot may allow them to dominate it.

New Media Strategies Encourage moviegoers to rate the film they just viewed as they leave the theater, posting their review on the theater’s social media page as well as their own. Randomly select one or more participating patrons and reward them with a free movie pass for their next visit. Because visiting a movie theater is supposed to be a relaxing, immersive experience, conduct an occasional poll or survey on social media to gauge patrons’ perception of the theater’s cleanliness, food/snack quality, employees’ assistance, etc. Since Latino Americans had the largest per capita attendance during 2017, theaters should consider selecting a regular Latino American patron to be an “official” influencer, regularly posting comments, videos and other content in Spanish.