Technology has brought the cinema to our homes. Huge screens, powerful sound systems, projectors, streaming services, and even active seating and other novelties, have all conspired to keep many cinemagoers away from the traditional venues for watching movies. This coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic that had many of us confined to our homes for the sake of personal and public health also reduced cinema attendance significantly and whether numbers are rising again in the purported post-pandemic era remains to be seen.
Research in the International Journal of Entertainment Technology and Management has looked closely at what factors determine whether or not people become active cinemagoers. Marta Batlle-Beltrán and Manuel Mateo of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, suggest that those who run cinemas must offer much greater added value than ever before at a reasonable price in order to entice people back to the traditional Saturday night at the movies.
Of course, there remain many good reasons why people will still pay to go to the movies – the scale of the screen and the big sound, the social side, the peripheral activities such as drinking and dining before, after, and during the cinema show, an escape from domesticity, and the anticipation of novelty and difference.
The team found through a comprehensive survey that factors such as comfort, service, and facilities were strong influencers of whether or not they would choose to watch a movie at the cinema, especially given that generally, the same movies may well be available via streaming services, if not immediately, then within a few months of theatrical release. They also found that older people were generally more inclined to go to the cinema and with the right enticements might become loyal regulars.
Batlle-Beltrán, M. and Mateo, M. (2022) ‘Analysis of the factors that determine cinema attendance’, Int. J. Entertainment Technology and Management, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp.201–221.