Moviegoers name No. 1 condition for returning to theaters
In a recent survey, moviegoers were asked to identify the most important safety measure that makes them confident about returning to a movie theater, among other relevant questions.
The survey was conducted by Santa Monica, CA-based digital movie ticketing platform Atom Tickets.
According to the poll results, which were released on Tuesday, 88% of more than 1,500 digital moviegoer respondents said they are ready to go back to watching movies in theaters within a few months, while 25% said they are willing to return immediately.
One percent said they never plan to return, however.
It should be noted that since March, US theaters have been adjusting to provisional shutdown ordered by state and federal governments to slow the spread of COVID-19. Studios have also rearranged their 2020 and 2021 movie slates to enable their movies to get the best chance at box office.
When asked about the most important safety measure, most moviegoers (42.2%) named spaced seating in theaters, making it by far the most critical safety feature.
The next most important safety measure is heightened cleaning procedures. The percentage of respondents was 21.14.
The third most critical safety measure is mask-wearing, by both staff and guests. The percentage of respondents was 14.36.
Just 6.41% said taking guest and staff temperature readings before screenings was the most important measure.
The contactless trend also seems important to moviegoers as more than 88% say buying digital tickets from their own device and not having to interact with a cashier is critical.
Moviegoers are also leaning towards ordering ahead and picking up their items instead of waiting in crowded lines to be served directly over the counter. Of those who have never ordered theater concessions, 61% said they are now likely to give it a try.
Atom Tickets chairman and co-founder Matthew Bakal said, “Moviegoers are telling us that they miss the experience of going to the movies and they’re ready to get back, but that the experience needs to look slightly different than before.”
He added, “We anticipate a rapid acceleration in digital ordering, just as we have seen in other industries, in order to reduce the amount of person-to-person interactions. We’re eager to resume being together with friends and family, but we want to do so responsibly. Atom is working with our theater partners to roll out spaced seat maps so that guests can see the steps being taken in order to provide a safe environment.”
Image credits: Moviegoer - Williemuse (CC BY-SA 4.0) Infographic - via press release
