Movie Theaters Lost Half Their Audience: Only 50% of Americans Went in 2025, Pew Finds

With the Academy Awards around the corner, a new survey shows that movie theaters are still struggling to draw audiences. According to a Pew Research Center study conducted in summer 2025, only 53% of American adults said they went to a theater to watch a movie in the past year. Meanwhile, 7% said they had never been to a theater at all.

The results highlight the ongoing challenges for theaters trying to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, when ticket sales dropped by 81% in 2020 due to widespread closures. In 2025, people in the U.S. and Canada bought 769.2 million tickets, less than half of the 1.6 billion tickets sold at the industry’s peak in 2002, according to Nash Information Services.

Box office revenue has been steadily rising since the pandemic lows, with theaters earning just over $9 billion in ticket sales last year, according to Comscore. While this is a recovery, it still falls far short of pre-pandemic numbers, which peaked at an inflation-adjusted $16.4 billion in 2002.

The survey also showed differences in moviegoing habits across age, income, and race. About two-thirds of adults aged 18 to 29 said they had seen a movie in theaters in the past year, compared with only 39% of adults 65 and older. Higher-income adults went most often, at 64%, while middle-income and lower-income adults reported rates of 57% and 43%, respectively.

Race and ethnicity also played a role. Hispanic adults were the most likely to attend, with 59% reporting theater visits, followed by white adults at 53% and Black adults at 49%. Gender made little difference, with 53% of men and 54% of women saying they had attended. Political affiliation showed a slight gap, with 58% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents going to theaters compared with 50% of Republicans and Republican-leaning respondents.

The data paints a picture of an industry still finding its footing. While younger and wealthier audiences are returning, older and lower-income groups are lagging behind, and overall attendance remains below pre-pandemic levels.

Theaters have made progress, but there’s still work to do to get audiences fully back. The trends suggest studios and theaters may need to rethink their strategies to reach all demographics. What do you think about moviegoing today? Are you heading to theaters this year, or streaming at home? Share your thoughts in the comments.