Hollywood recently experienced the worst box office Memorial Day weekend in over 40 years. In fact, the box office has been on life support for a while now, following the pandemic and two crippling labor strikes.
However, there's a certain demographic not just keeping the box office afloat but helping to make it thrive: Latinos.
Case in point: "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire", which generated $571 million worldwide, counted on Latinos and Hispanics for 35% of its audience, just behind Caucasians at 36%, with Asian/other at 18% and Black viewers at 17%. Another fresh new example is "Bad Boys: Ride or Die", which also benefited from a multicultural audience that is 44% Black, 26% Latino and Hispanic, 18% Caucasian, 8% Asian and 4% other.
Family films have also seen high turnout from Latino audiences. Pixar's "Inside Out 2," which drew a 36% Latino and Hispanic audience on Father's Day weekend, achieved the second-highest North American opening for an animated film ever, with $155 million.
In a recent interview with The Wrap, Comscore's senior media analyst, Paul Dergarabedian, gave his two cents around why Latinos are an ideal cohort for filling movie theaters up:
"Going out to the movie theater with a group of your friends and family in that communal environment of the movie theater is something that has traditionally been a big part of the entertainment diet of the Latino audience, and that's fantastic for theaters. Selling one ticket at a time or two is one thing, but being able to have an entire family or group of friends and family go to a movie theater, that's gold at the box office."
A recent study by McKinsey aligns with this idea, as it showed that Latinos are disproportionally higher ticket buyers than other demographic groups because they tend to go to movies in larger groups of family and friends.
The McKinsey report also showed that Latinos are the most avid filmgoers per capita in the U.S. Despite making up 19% of the population, Latinos account for 24% of film ticket sales, 29% of daily mobile TV viewers, and 24% of streaming subscribers. The report, titled "Latinos in Hollywood: Amplifying Voices, Expanding Horizons," also revealed that
Following a challenging May, the increased attendance from these audiences is driving a growth pattern that could help the industry return to pre-pandemic levels.
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