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Movio’s Ashleigh Davis examines demographics of
WHICH MOVIE VIEWERS HAVE BOUNCED BACK POSTLOCKDOWN?
The past few months have been marked by speculation and hypothesis about cinemagoing, but with many sites reopening, firm data on returning visitors is at last available. Movio’s Ashleigh Davis scrutinises the demographics of confident returnees.
As cinemas across the world reopen their doors, it seems the question of how lockdown has impacted the film industry and moviegoer behaviour can finally start to be answered. As many countries started to ease their social-distancing rules and commence some degree of normalcy, it presented the opportunity to discover which film lovers were the first to return to their favourite havens.
A G E G R O U P T R E N D S DURING LOCKDOWN
MOVIEGOER SEGMENTS FROM JAN TO JUL 2020 (UK & IRELAND)
Jan Jul
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
12-34 yrs 35-54 yrs
The industry assumption in lockdown had been that younger moviegoers would return to cinemas sooner than those in older age brackets. In the UK & Ireland, this was the case, with the 12-34 year old
55-80 yrs
moviegoer segment rising from 35% of the total audience in January 2020 to 46% in July, while the 55-80 age group dropped from 22% of the total cinema audience pre-shutdown to 9% upon reopening.
F R E Q U E N C Y O F C I N E M A VISITS DURING LOCKDOWN
FROM JAN TO JUL 2020 (WESTERN EUROPE)
Jan Jun Jul
60%
40%
20%
0%
With sufficient data now available in a range of territories, Movio’s moviegoer analysis and comparison of behaviour from January to June and July means we can see which audiences responded to the first of theatre reopenings in key markets (UK, US, Western Europe, Scandinavia, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Australasia).
Vital analysis for future marketing
Movio’s Data Science team focused their analysis specifically on the age and gender demographic profiles, frequency of attendance, and visits per member, comparing these data points from pre-shutdown to the June and July reopening period. Note that this analysis excludes several variables such as content on-screen as well as pricing and offers to members.
The industry assumption was “The impact of that the younger fewer regional moviegoers may ultimately return sooner than older CV19 cases on attendance among age brackets. In older audiences is the UK and a factor to consider” Ireland, this was certainly the case. The 12-34 year old moviegoer segment here rose from 35% of the total cinema audience in January 2020 to 46% in July, while the 55-80 age group dropped from 22% of the audience pre-shutdown to 9% upon reopening.
When examining the audience behaviour in Scandinavia and Australasia, however, different patterns emerged. Younger audiences in Scandinavia (those aged 12-34 years) actually made up a considerably smaller proportion of the moviegoers upon cinemas reopening, versus the period prior to lockdown. More specifically, this age segment shrank from 41% of total attendance in January to 30% of the audience in July. Older moviegoers in New Zealand also represented a larger share of the total audience following lockdown, where 55-80 year olds previously made up 21% of the total audience in this region in January, yet in June they made up 31%.
Could this illustrate a correlation between the countries hardest hit by CV19 and audiences most confident to return the fastest? The impact of fewer regional Covid cases on
Infrequent Occasional Frequent V.Frequent
The suggestion that those who visited cinemas most prior would be the ones to head straight back when they could largely proved to be the case. The data gathered by Movio saw “frequent” (those making 6-25 visits in six months) and “very frequent” (those making 26+ visits in six months) moviegoers dominate the audience profiles for those returning to cinemas in June and July. Attendance per loyalty programme member in Western Europe was up from 1.45 average visits pre-lockdown, to 1.67 average visits in June, and a further increased to 2.04 average visits in July. This consistent rise in returning frequent moviegoers made up a whopping 40% of audiences in July, compared to just 12% in January.
attendance amongst older audiences is a factor to consider as markets reopen in months ahead.
Gender: a female skew The Movio Data Science team found that female audiences in
31%
55-80 year olds in New Zealand previously made up 21% of the total audience in this region in January, yet in June made up 31%.
June made a higher share of the total returning audience than in January across the majority of territories examined. The UK and Ireland saw younger female segments dominate on reopening, with 12-34 year old and 35-54 year old women making up 26% and 25% of audiences respectively in July.
Female moviegoers in nearby territories also made up audience majorities, but with a higher age on average. In Western Europe, 55-80 year old females accounted for 11% of the returning audience in July, up from 4% in January, while in Scandinavia, 35-54 females accounted for 38% of the returning audience in July, up from 25% in January. This trend continued in the Middle East, with female audiences sitting at 28% of total audiences post-shutdown — up 4% since January — which is particularly interesting considering the region’s audience being traditionally male-skewed.
Further afield, Australia saw the largest change among the countries examined, with the 12-34 year old female cohort making up 40% of the post-shutdown June audience, up dramatically from 19% in January. The only territory analysed that showed an increase in its male audience was Western Europe, where 12-34 year old males accounted for 28% of audiences in June, up from 22% pre-shutdown.
Frequency: keen on kino One hypothesis the team at Movio had regarding frequency was that those who visited cinemas most frequently prior to shutdown would be the ones to return first in the early days of reopening. We thought this
46% The 12-34 year old moviegoer segment in the UK and Ireland rose from 35% of the total cinema audience in January 2020 to 46% in July,
would be particularly likely at cinemas offering subscriptionbased loyalty programmes, where multiple visits per month were considered the norm. Data gathered across these territories proved our hypothesis to largely be the case, with
30%
The 12-34 age segment in Scandinavia shrank from 41% of total attendance in January to 30% of the audience in July.
17%
The proportion of frequent and very frequent moviegoers in the UK & Ireland rose from 9% in January to 17% in July.
“frequent” (those making 6-25 visits in six months) and “very frequent” (those making 26+ visits in six months) moviegoers dominating the profiles for those returning in June and July. Attendance per loyalty programme member in Western Europe was up from 1.45 average visits pre-lockdown, to 1.67 average visits in June, and a further increased 2.04 average visits in July. This consistent rise in returning frequent visitors made up a whopping 40% of audiences in July, compared to just 12% in January. The proportion of frequent and very frequent moviegoers in the UK and Ireland followed a similar dominancy trend, rising from 9% in January to 17% in July. The average visits per loyalty programme member in this territory rose from 1.30 in January to 1.43 in July. Unlike those territories in the Northern Hemisphere, the Asia Pacific region
26% The UK and Ireland saw younger female segments dominate upon reopening, with 12-34 year old and 35-54 year old women making up 26% and 25% of audiences respectively in July.
saw only a small increase of 1.41 to 1.42 in average visits from January to June. Larger change was seen in the
proportion of frequent moviegoers which rose from 21% to 26%, and very frequent moviegoers accounted for 2.7% of the audience post-shutdown, compared to 0.9% pre-shutdown.
The US was the only region to show a drop in the average visits per loyalty programme member, decreasing from 1.75 in January to 1.49 in June and 1.56 in July. Unlike most other regions was the fact that the returning audience was mostly made up of infrequent moviegoers. It is worth noting that infrequent moviegoer visits does bring down the average visits per member, as they obviously tend not to go as often.
In summary
It is clear that some speculation proved to be true regarding who would be first through cinema doors. In June, we saw younger, female-skewed, and “more frequent” moviegoers embracing the return more than any other group, but it’s clear this attendance is diversifying as weeks pass. This audience composition could continue to fluctuate as new openings and new screenings occur and when, hopefully, conditions improve. One thing is certain: it is an invigoratingly fresh chapter for the world of cinema, and one that can undoubtedly be steered to success by data-led marketing.
