Recovering cinema-going in the U.S./Canada is being led by films in genres attracting the youth demographic, according to a Variety analysis. On the other hand, titles catering to older audiences have languished, which is no surprise because the pandemic hits oldsters hardest, keeping them cautious about mingling with crowds like cinema audiences.
“Much of this year’s bounty will come from sci-fi epics and action-packed tentpoles, with the genre generating a leading $851 million at the domestic boxoffice to date,” says the Variety article by Rebecca Rubin. “There’s been no shortage of action movies in 2021; 16 of the top 50 movies fall into that category, led by Universal’s sequel ‘F9: The Fast Saga’ ($173 million), MGM’s James Bond installment ‘No Time to Die’ ($133 million), the Ryan Reynolds-led comedy ‘Free Guy’ ($121 million), Warner Bros. and Legendary’s monster mashup ‘Godzilla vs Kong’ ($100 million) and Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of ‘Dune’ ($69 million).”
Those boxoffice figures are for North American, which is referred to as the domestic market.
While youth demographics are rushing back to theaters, researchers note that the older females segment have not, and are a large chunk of the audience that has not returned to theaters in the same proportion as pre-pandemic.
The article continues: “Many of the biggest movies in 2021 were available on various streaming platforms on the same day as their theatrical releases. Even with disruptions from on-demand viewing, movie-watching patterns have been mostly consistent: horror films have also been reliable big-screen draws, while adult-skewed dramas and comedies have continued to struggle to sell tickets.”
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