Rumours about the imminent demise of moviegoing may have been overstated, with 2026 now forecast to be the best year at the global box office since the start of the pandemic. And it is generation Z at the forefront of the cinema revival. According to a US-based survey by Fandango, gen Z are now the most frequent cinemagoers, with 87% saying they have seen at least one film in a cinema in the past 12 months. Millennials are close behind at 82%, followed by gen X at 70% and boomers at 58%. Gen Z also go more often than other cohorts, averaging around seven trips a year.
Gen Z – people born between 1997 and 2012 – grew up with near unlimited streaming and social media as their default entertainment. But after spending their lives in algorithm-driven digital spaces, many are beginning to tire of them. “As the internet becomes ever more pervasive, and in many ways ever more annoying, gen Z are looking for experiences beyond the black mirror,” say Benedict and Hannah Townsend, hosts of the film and TV podcast Talk of the Townsends. What gen Z are looking for is a “third space”: a social environment away from home and work. And for many, the cinema can fill that role.
