Strategies to Increase Movie Theater Attendance

🎬 How Do We Get People Back Into Cinemas? (Not with bigger popcorn buckets.) Everyone keeps asking why cinema attendance is down. But we’re often asking the wrong question. People haven’t stopped loving movies. They’ve stopped believing cinema is worth leaving the house for. So how do we fix it? 1️⃣ Cinema Must Become an Event Again Streaming gives convenience. Cinema must give occasion. Premier-style screenings. Director Q&As (live or streamed). Cast appearances, curated intros, post-film conversations. If it feels special, people show up. If it feels routine, they wait for streaming. 2️⃣ Stop Selling Films. Start Selling Experiences We market films like products. Audiences choose experiences. Think: “One-night-only” screenings Limited theatrical windows Curated double bills Genre nights (thriller Fridays, indie Sundays, cult classics at midnight) Scarcity creates urgency. Urgency fills seats. 3️⃣ Better Stories. Fewer Films. Audiences are overwhelmed. Too many releases. Too little meaning. Cinema thrives when films: Say something Feel personal Spark conversation on the way home Quality doesn’t just attract audiences it creates repeat attendance. 4️⃣ Price for Reality, Not Nostalgia Cinema is no longer competing with other cinemas. It’s competing with sofas, subscriptions, and 75-inch TVs. Dynamic pricing matters: Affordable midweek tickets Premium pricing for event screenings Loyalty rewards that actually feel rewarding Accessibility builds habits. Habits build audiences. 5️⃣ Bring Community Back Into the Room Cinema used to be social. Now it’s transactional. Partnerships with: Local creatives Universities Film clubs Brands Mental-health orgs Music, sport, fashion, food When people feel a cinema belongs to their world, they support it. 6️⃣ Theatres Must Stop Waiting for Hollywood Independent, bold, original films do work when properly positioned. Curated programming beats passive scheduling. Audiences trust taste more than algorithms. Be brave. Champion voices. Create identity. 🎥 The Future of Cinema Isn’t Bigger Screens. It’s bigger feelings. If cinema becomes: • Emotional • Social • Scarce • Meaningful People won’t ask, “Should we go?” They’ll ask, “What’s playing?” Would love to hear from exhibitors, producers, distributors and filmmakers What do you think cinemas must change first? #Cinema #FilmIndustry #IndependentFilm #TheatricalExperience #Storytelling #AudienceFirst #FutureOfFilm

Stop throwing discounts at new attendees. I think we're using early bird pricing wrong. Most use early birds to incentivise early booking and chase new attendees. But what if we flipped the script and used these incentives to reward our loyal crowd instead? Repeat attendees aren't just ticket sales - they're our community builders, our word-of-mouth engine, our biggest advocates. They’re also most likely the reason that new attendees will want to come. Yet we’re often caught throwing our best deals at first-timers. If we want to turn attendees into fans, let's start treating our regulars like VIPs and giving them: - The best prices - Priority access to new events - Exclusive meetups and access - Behind-the-scenes content - Special area access with free drinks, snacks and workspace I'm sure we could add loads more exclusive incentives to this list. Let's stop chasing new attendees at the expense of our loyal base. And build a community of fans who'll do our event promotion for us. Now's the time to acknowledge and reward those who've been showing up for us all along. PS Apart from the early bird, this principle would be great for free-to-attend events too.

Saiyaara - The Genius of Compression Marketing Most film marketing campaigns stretch over 45-60 days, creating awareness in layers — teaser, trailer, songs, city tours, interviews, etc. But Saiyaara turned this on its head. They concentrated their entire media firepower in the final 7–10 days, right before and during release week. This method banks on: Recency Bias: What’s top-of-mind gets bought. Most consumers decide movies on impulse. The final week is when this decision peaks. Media Saturation = Dominance: When a single film takes over every ad spot, TV break, and social feed in one go — it creates the illusion of a “must-watch.” Avoiding Campaign Fatigue: Long campaigns risk boredom. Saiyaara’s short window kept buzz tight, emotional, and fresh. The same budget that seems ‘just enough’ when stretched over 45 days becomes a blitzkrieg when concentrated into 7–10 That concentrated spend delivers: - Media saturation across every channel - Top-of-mind dominance in the consumer’s decision window - Emotional recall before attention fades In a noisy marketing landscape, the impact of “all at once” is far more powerful than “a little over time.” Psychological Levers That Worked - Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): A sudden explosion of visibility tricks the brain into thinking “everyone’s watching it”. - High Trust Through High Spend: A blitzkrieg media push signals confidence. It makes audiences subconsciously believe the film must be good. - Emotional Anchoring: Saiyaara’s music and title track were strategically released just before the push — and rode the emotional crest during the campaign. Marketing Learnings for Brands This approach has implications beyond cinema. Think: Product Launches: Instead of long pre-launch build-ups, go for hyper-intensity close to release. Crisis Response: Use tight windows to overwhelm negative sentiment with high-velocity positive messaging. Event Campaigns: Last-minute dominant noise can sometimes outperform drawn-out awareness drives.

LOW-COST TICKETS. DEVALUATION? OR COMPETITIVE EDGE? I’ve spoken a lot about dynamic pricing as a path forward in cinema. My pitch has nuance (pricing by week of release, budget, format, etc.), but what most people hear is “discount.” The reaction: won’t that devalue the film? But what if we’ve been thinking about this all wrong? For independent films, lowering prices isn’t a threat--it’s a competitive edge. A tentpole can cost hundreds of millions to make and market. To recoup, it needs premium screens, surcharges, and high-ticket markets. A $2M indie doesn’t. Its path is curiosity: lower the risk, and people take a chance. Movies may not be commodities… but they kind of are. A Porsche has to be expensive because it’s expensive to make. A Camry may not be premium, but its lower cost of ownership makes it the most popular car in America. Same with gloves: cashmere is gorgeous but pricey, cotton is practical and accessible. Cotton wins because it’s priced to be used. That’s how discounting should be viewed for indies: not devaluation, but accessibility. The data proves it. On National Cinema Day 2022, when tickets dropped to $3, attendance jumped 376% WoW: 8.1M people versus ~2.5M the Sunday before. In 2023, at $4, theaters welcomed 9.4M — more than triple a typical late-August Sunday and a 117% YoY spike. The discount not only brought in crowds, it made more money for many films. In 2022, Minions (+261% WoW) and Thor (+189%) surged, but so did Crawdads (+71%), Nope (+89%), and Three Thousand Years of Longing (+73%). Many were 9–15 weeks into release, long past their peak, and some, including Minions, Super-Pets, and The Invitation, were already streaming. Yet audiences still came. In 2023, families returned to Elemental and Super Mario Bros., likely for repeat viewings, and Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City jumped +505% WoW — proof a lower price can turn “maybe” into “yes.” Our survey confirmed it: people went to movies they normally wouldn’t see in theaters. Some said they’d have waited to stream. Others said the genre didn’t feel “theatrical” at full price. At $3 or $4, they experimented and entire categories of films that usually struggle found new life. That’s the insight: blockbusters don’t need discounting. Demand and premium formats do the heavy lifting. But for family and indie films, where curiosity and repeat viewing matter, every extra person in a seat moves the needle. Discounting is one of the simplest ways to make that happen. So instead of treating lower prices as an insult to the art, let’s see them for what they are: an invitation. An entry ramp. A way to expand who shows up. For indie filmmakers, that’s not a liability--it’s a competitive advantage. See you at the movies!

Spoiler: “Just lower prices” is not a marketing strategy. Here’s what to do instead when your audience’s wallets are on life support. Two smarter strategies for event producers: 1. Pay It Forward Let fans purchase an extra ticket at a discounted rate when they buy their own. You then donate those tickets to people/groups facing financial hardship — fill seats, build goodwill, and expand your audience. 2. Pay What You Can Nights Offer a limited number of “pay what you can” tickets. It lowers the barrier for those who need a break, while giving higher-earning attendees a chance to pay more and support the event or a cause. A full room is a profitable room — and a memorable one. The bottom line: In tough times, creativity is your best sales strategy. These models don’t just move tickets — they build loyalty, buzz, and long-term brand equity. (Way more valuable than a 20% off promo code.)

How AM/FM Radio, Podcast, And Streaming Audio Ads Can Launch Movie Theatrical Releases And Drive Streaming Video Subscriptions Key ad creative findings: * Numerous studies smash the myths that “sight, sound, and motion” are superior to audio ads and that visual media require visual ads. * Audio ads can be optimized with a less aggressive approach and slower narration. Ensure music and sound effects are in the background and don’t overwhelm the narrator. * Storytelling works. Have the narrator explain the plot and name the actors rather than using hard-to-understand, noisy clips from the movie. Key marketing optimization findings: * Audio listeners are voracious consumers of movies in the theater and films on streaming services. They are first to see a movie in the theater on opening weekend and when films debut on streaming services. * Versus linear TV viewers, audio listeners are far more likely to see movies in the theater and indicate a greater willingness to watch content. * Linear TV advertising spend for theatrical releases and video streaming brands is 30X audio. Despite this, TV viewers show low awareness of new films and low interest in upcoming films and streaming service subscriptions. * Audio (AM/FM radio, streaming audio, and podcasts) should become a much greater allocation in the entertainment marketing media plan. * Reallocating 20% of linear TV theatrical and streaming video media plans to AM/FM radio doubles campaign reach with no additional cost. Via the link below is an executive summary, deck, and explainer video:

“I’m too busy” is a lie. 💣 When audiences say they’re too busy to attend your performances, what they’re really saying is: “This isn’t worth my time.” Here’s the truth: People always make time for what they value most. If they’re not showing up, it’s not because their calendars are packed. It’s because the perceived value of attending doesn’t outweigh the effort required. So how do you change THAT? The key is to focus on THEIR perception of value—not yours. 📌 Start by answering the questions every consumer is asking: 🤔 Why should I choose this experience over others? 🤔 What will I get out of it? 🤔 How do I know it’s worth my time and money? The ability to clearly communicate why your offering is worth someone’s time is the foundation of effective marketing. It’s what drives people to choose one experience over another. To do this, you need to address their needs and their doubts head-on. You need to help them see your relevance: 1️⃣ What problem are you solving? Are you offering a break from stress? A way to reconnect with loved ones? A digital detox? Show how your offerings meet a specific need or desire in their lives. 2️⃣ How are you a better choice? Audiences have countless ways to solve their problems. What makes your offering better than the other solutions they’re considering? 3️⃣ What proof do you have? New audiences won’t be convinced by vague promises about beauty or artistic jargon. Offer tangible and specific evidence that proves you deliver on your promises. Testimonials from real-life customers are a great way to start. 🎯 When you frame your performances around what your audience values, you change the equation. You’re not just asking for their time anymore—you’re offering them an experience they can’t afford to miss. TLDR: When something feels truly worth it, no one says, “I’m too busy.”

Over the past year I’ve quizzed a number of film industry professionals on film marketing. https://lnkd.in/e5fnS8A9 It quickly emerged that there were a few core ideas many people spoke about: 1. Start your marketing before your film is finished. Begin building an audience early by sharing the filmmaking process and generating interest well before release. 2. Target niche communities and micro-influencers. Collaborate with smaller, focused influencers who speak directly to your target audience and generate more meaningful engagement. 3. Use social platforms as force multipliers. Engage with audiences on the platforms they already use by posting tailored, authentic content to boost visibility and word of mouth. 4. Create real-world experiences worth sharing. Design immersive or novel physical experiences related to your film that people will want to share online. 5. Give fans tools to spread the word for you. Provide easy-to-share assets and encourage user-generated content to turn your audience into active promoters. 6. Use surprise and mystery to fuel curiosity. Tease elements of your film to provoke speculation and build anticipation without revealing everything upfront. 7. Don’t leave first impressions to chance. Invest in high-quality trailers, posters, and synopses as they play a crucial role in attracting both audiences and industry buyers. 8. Let controversy work for you. If your film sparks debate or outrage, embrace the attention and use it to fuel conversation and visibility. The article dives into each and include many examples so you can see it in the wild https://lnkd.in/e5fnS8A9

Stephen Follows research is ALWAYS worth reading, including the latest of hiw two-part report on the future of cinema. Don't be distracted by the headline finding, quoted in several online publications, that two-thirds of Sales & Distribution Execs think that the theatrical model has less than two decades left. It's survived for 130 years and these are the same people who tried day-and-date releases in cinemas and online, only to fail miserably. More interestingly... The people actually running cinemas know what works: 57.8% of exhibition executives credit cost reduction as their top recovery strategy, followed by flexible programming (46.6%). Meanwhile, those NOT operating cinemas overemphasised premium experiences - classic disconnect between theory and practice. Recovery remains fragile: Only 1 in 8 exhibition execs say they've fully recovered vs. 1 in 3 production execs. The 75.4% US recovery (to $8.56bn from $11.36bn pre-pandemic) masks significant operational challenges still being felt at venue level. The optimism paradox: Exhibition executives are simultaneously the MOST optimistic (45.7% predict 20+ years) AND most realistic about short-term risks (6% predict under 5 years). They understand both the resilience of the model and the immediate pressures. Event cinema proving its worth: Exhibition operators specifically cited event programming as effective, whilst outsiders focused on premium experiences. Again, those facing real audiences daily understand what actually drives attendance. Yes, audiences love IMAX or a glass of wine with their film, but not everyone does and cinema needs to be a broad temple. This is why anime and Taylor Swift matter as much (we're just waiting for the Oasis concert cinema release announcement). The headline pessimism from sales/distribution reflects their frustration with shrinking windows and streaming cannibalisation. But the people actually selling tickets and popcorn? They're adapting, cutting costs intelligently, and programming smarter. Theatrical exhibition isn't dying - it's evolving under operator guidance rather than distributor wishful thinking. #exhibition #cinema #theatricalwindow #boxoffice #streaming #StephenFollows #reasonstobecheerfull https://lnkd.in/eqTxVWj2