According to a survey, the American public would have rediscovered the joys of going to the cinema thanks to “Barbie”. Here are the numbers.
That’s what happens when a movie makes over a billion dollars. Locally, in the United States, Barbie is on the verge of reaching $500 million in revenue and appears to be well on its way to overtaking Super Mario Bros. The Movie and its $574 million to become the biggest feature film. most profitable of the year. And when a movie makes that much money, there’s clearly a large and varied audience behind its success.
The Quorum site then decided to carry out its little survey of those who bought a ticket to see Barbie. Specifically, the site investigated whether the film was successful in bringing reluctant viewers back to the cinema.
Over the past three weeks, 1,800 people have therefore been interviewed for the survey. The first question we asked them: do you often go to the cinema? 46% answered “all the time”, 32% “from time to time”, then 11% do not remember the last time they went to the cinema and 11% answered that Barbie was the first movie they’ve seen since the pandemic.
The Quorum
These are very interesting statistics, especially when you do the math. At the time of publication of the survey, Barbie was $450 million generated at the box office. If the average ticket price is $11 in the United States, then around 41 million tickets have been sold. If we take 22% of this (those who cannot remember the last time they went to the cinema and therefore traveled to Barbie + those who haven’t seen a movie in theaters since the pandemic) so around 9 million people returned to dark theaters exclusively to see Greta Gerwig’s film starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.
A SUSTAINABLE RETURN TO THEATERS?
But the study went further, also seeking to know what these people thought of their return to the cinema. Among them, 40% said that the experience reminded them how much they loved going there and that they would return more often. 45% said they would go more often but the ticket price was an issue and finally 15% said it was a once in a lifetime experience and would need another movie like Barbie to bring them back. The question also had an “other” option that few people used.
The Quorum
Such is the influence of Barbie which will be remembered in particular for its ability to bring people back to the cinema. Not only has the film succeeded in bringing American audiences back to theaters, but it may also have changed their post-COVID habits, for those who say they are ready to return more often. It remains to be seen whether the generalized strike in Hollywood will impact this progress: with all the films delayed and the release dates changed, it will indeed be complicated. For example, no large-scale release is scheduled for October 6, one of the most coveted weekends of the year in the United States… So to be continued.
Barbie is currently playing in your nearest movie theatre.