The Decline of the Movie-Going Generation: Z
It is safe to say that going to the movies is no longer how young Americans stay informed about popular culture in 2023. With the rise of social media, short-term video content, streaming services, and high-quality home entertainment systems, movie theaters have struggled to stay afloat and feel relevant to the 11-26 year-olds of Generation Z. While some may argue that the COVID-19 pandemic is the immediate explanation for the slow but steady decline in theater attendance, it’s crucial to note that even before the pandemic, there were concerns from Hollywood and the Movie Theater industries about the long-term viability of cinemas due to the increasing popularity of watching new films at home. According to IndieWire, “In the last four years, theatrical attendance has declined by about 50 percent.” While the pandemic has certainly accelerated these trends, vaccines are widely available, and restrictions are being lifted. Movie theaters are reopening alongside all the other activities closed due to COVID-19, but it remains to be seen whether movie theaters will be able to adapt and continue attracting audiences. The widespread closure of theaters due to lockdowns inevitably led to a sharp decline in box office revenue in 2020 and early 2021. But now theaters are back in full swing, and movie houses are still blundering to reach the attention of Generation Z. Live music, eating out, and travel is thriving post-COVID-19, so why not movie theater culture?
“It's not that I don't like going to the movie theater; I actually really enjoy it. But it's a lot of work. And I don't live close to one. It’s expensive, and honestly, there's never a movie I'm dying to see enough in theaters. I will just wait a few months until it's streaming at home,” says 17-year-old Tatiana Estrin from Brooklyn, New York. As an AMC rewards program owner and self-proclaimed cinephile, hearing my own flesh and blood (sister) say this about the theater experience was heartbreaking. She continues on about streaming movies at home, “It's so much more convenient. I can put it on whenever, pause whenever, and stop watching whenever I'm not feeling it anymore. And I can change it to another program with so much ease. It's nice to be able to go get a snack and come back, you know?”
No. I don’t know what it’s like to feel the need to wait to see a highly anticipated theatrical release in the comfort of my tiny, dusty laptop screen, months after the film has been out in the world, just because I want the options of pausing it, grabbing a bite from my pantry, or even shutting it off if it doesn’t cater to my exact interests. I don’t get it. I don’t get it. I don’t get it. Thousands of people work hard to get a single film made, and I want to support them by watching it the way it was intended to be seen. I love sitting in a comfortable reclining chair, munching on overpriced candy and popcorn (mixed together in the popcorn bucket) that a disinterested theater employee served me, and consequently feeling like a tiny ant overpowered by the intensity of the images projected onto the silver screen.
Upon asking if her friends also had this attitude about seeing films in the theater, Tatiana explained something that made sense, “I feel like the only people who go to the theater are the people, like you, who are really into the art of movies. I am interested in going to the theaters more, especially because half of my Tik Tok feed is edits of movies. I’ve made a list of the ones I want to watch in the future. I just don’t always have time to sit and watch a whole movie.”
Maybe I judged too quickly. While ticket sales have shown that this generation doesn’t feel a strong urge to go to the theaters for many reasons, it’s not like no one goes. Tatiana says, “The last movie I saw in theaters was Avatar 2 in 3D, and that was a special experience that couldn’t be replicated anywhere else. I hate to say it, but sometimes I get super bored during movies.” I went with her and my parents to see the sequel to 2009’s Avatar, and I’ll admit it was a crowded theater, with half the audience being in the Generation Z age range with their families on a snowy Christmas afternoon. After the reopening of movie theaters, there have always been young people in the theaters with me, just not quite as many as pre-2020 and definitely not as many ten years ago.
As an avid moviegoer, I’ll watch everything from Marvel hits to small independent films because, in my blood, I am just so pro-movies. I absolutely, positively love them. I think about them all day. I wish I could watch movies all day. Unlike many other things, I refuse to judge a film until I’ve seen it. Movies are one of the only reasons I get into a “follow the herd” mindset. If millions went out of their way to see the newest Star Wars spinoff film on opening weekend, it’s probably worth seeing because it is causing an ever-so-slight rift in our culture. I’m often disappointed when I resort to these sheepish behaviors because I don’t particularly enjoy the major superhero blockbusters or franchise mega-movies starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. I always find myself complaining about them being tedious and offensive to the cinematic medium to whoever will halfheartedly listen. But being present in a crowded theater cheering for Spiderman as he shoots his webs and swings through his Queens, New York neighborhood gives me hope. Hope that maybe one day, movies will be as momentous as the daily top trending Youtube video or the latest variation of the infamous Snapchat dog filter. A crowded theater signifies American capitalism, marketing, and advertising working in “art’s” favor. It is a potent reminder that seeing movies with a community of reactive strangers encourages comradery in a vein of cynical commercialism. There’s truly nothing like hearing one hundred people laugh at the same joke or scream at the same jumpscare. We go through the motions of life on entirely different planets, and seeing movies together links society to each other, at least for 2 hours and thirty minutes.
Because of my sister’s apathetic attitude toward the pre-funeral wake of movie theaters, I had to inquire thoughts from my close friend and fellow cinephile, Josh Sher, a 20-year-old from Houston, Texas, on why young people don’t go to the movies. “Everyone has Tik Tok, Youtube, and Instagram on their phone where they can access millions of 15-second or fewer videos that they can scroll through within seconds. I am guilty of this. I consume so much content in such a short time. I think our attention spans are becoming so brief that sitting through a two-hour movie sounds excruciating.” While I initially went into my interviews with the mindset that Generation Z has zero appreciation for viewing art in its purposive form, research has shown that the constant stream of information and entertainment available on these devices can make it difficult for young people to focus on any one thing for an extended period. I am guilty of this (I have ADHD). He continues, “When you sit in the movie theater, you are kind of stuck. You can’t, I mean shouldn’t, go on your phone to look at your texts, social media updates, and Twitter feed unless you don’t care about being rude. I don’t think young people don’t go to the movies as much because they’re lazy, but the “going out to the movies” form is no longer relevant, combined with the bad attention span. The content on our phones has become the new cultural touchstone. Memes, Tik Tok trends, Instagram filters, etcetera. I guess I’m an old soul, but we have to be ready to adapt to change.” Sher brings up an interesting point about our generation’s shortened attention span. The fast-paced nature of modern life, emphasizing instant gratification and immediate results, may contribute to shorter attention spans. In a world where people can instantly access information, entertainment, and communication, staying focused on a single task for an extended period can be challenging. There are no more “Have you seen the new Leonardo DiCaprio movie?” conversations amongst young people who aren’t self-declared internet cinephiles; it’s “Have you seen what Kanye posted about Kim K on Twitter?” It’s all about new media and provocative headlines. Has the relevance of famous directors and actors been replaced with Instagram models and Fortnite Discord streamers?
While Josh and Tatiana have very different attitudes towards the slow extinction of the theater, they both brought up the 2022 film Avatar: The Way of Water in their interviews. Sher says, “Avatar 2 was a turning point for modern cinema, in my opinion. The ticket sales for the film were insane because it’s a movie you simply cannot watch at home. It’s an immersive experience to see it in 3D and even regular. James Cameron created brand new technology to create that film. The way the animation, sound design, and camerawork come together on the big screen is magical, and I’m glad that people recognize that.” The sequel to the hit made 2.303 billion USD, making it the highest-grossing movie of 2022. “I think that I'd be more inclined to go if there were things at movie theaters that I absolutely couldn't get at home,” says Tati. “that was a very special theater experience.” Cinema as an art has continually evolved to cater to changing audience preferences and demographics, adapting storytelling techniques, visual effects, and genres to keep up with the times. Maybe the problem isn’t the movie theaters. Maybe movies aren’t changing with the changing needs of their audiences.
