Customer Experience
Majority of moviegoers not concerned with Delta variant
August 17, 2021
Cinema advertising networks National CineMedia and Screenvision Media report that nearly 80% of moviegoers are not overly concerned with the COVID-19 Delta variant virus, based on a joint research survey, according to a company press release.
The survey of 1,311 moviegoers conducted July 29-Aug. 2 also revealed:
- 87% of moviegoers have seen a movie in the theater this year and the same percentage plan on going to the theater between August and the end of this year
- Moviegoers are also outpacing the general population for being fully vaccinated (82% vs. 61% national average at the time of this survey).
Nearly 90% of movie fans also indicated their intent to continue leisure activities such as dining out and shopping at malls. Among those that indicated concern about the variant, 73% plan to continue their activities with additional precautions, such as masking indoors and being diligent with sanitizing, while another 15% don't plan to make any changes.
"As the survey confirms, movie lovers are enthusiastically following the world's greatest content back to their favorite theaters," Scott Felenstein, president, sales, marketing and partnerships at NCM, said in the release. "We expect that audiences will continue their return to the cinema in large and growing numbers, once again delivering significant reach of valuable young, diverse and affluent consumers for advertisers."
Monthly box office figures also support the survey's results, with returns steadily increasing month-over-month, according to the release. July's box office gross revenue exceeded $580 million. When comparing early Q3 box office gross revenues numbers to earlier in the year, the same time period — approximately 40 days into the quarter — the figures show triple the revenue compared to Q2 and more than eight times revenue generated in Q1.
Further underscoring the industry's comeback, three of the five top grossing domestic movies so far this year, "Black Widow," "Cruella" and "Godzilla vs Kong." were released in cinema and on streaming services on the same date.
"This data underscores the power of the cinema experience and how behavior of moviegoers is driving the box office recovery," Christine Martino, EVP, Screenvision Media, said in the release. "While pandemic uncertainties remain, we are confident that given the strong slate in the coming months, moviegoers will continue to come back in droves – and there is simply no better place to engage with this passionate and highly engaged group than on the big screen."
NCM's "Noovie" pre-show is presented in 51 national and regional theater circuits including AMC, Cinemark Holdings, and Regal Entertainment Group with over 20,800 screens in over 1,600 theaters in 195 designated market areas. NCM, founded in 2006, is based in Centennial, Colorado.
Headquartered in New York City, the Screenvision Media advertising network comprises over 15,000 screens in 2,400 theaters in the U.S. and 94% of DMAs nationwide.
