“We come to this place… for magic.”
These are the words famously spoken by actress Nicole Kidman during the dramatic intro that plays before each movie at American Multi Cinema (AMC) theaters. But despite Kidman’s inspiring declaration, movie theaters are looking emptier than ever, facing low audience attendance and even lower box office revenue. This post-pandemic dip in moviegoing is just an accelerated part of a broader, long-term trend of declining attendance, per the LA Times.
Box office revenue totals for 2025 are on track to fall 17 percent lower than the pre-pandemic average. Based on data collected by Statista in 2024, the total number of attendees at AMC theaters has fallen by approximately 100 million since 2018.
Despite being an avid movie fan, WIS Economics teacher Aaron Butler admits to rarely going to theaters nowadays.
“Sadly, I think movie theaters are dying,” Butler said. “I would consider myself to be a movie buff, and I haven’t been to a single cinema in D.C. in the two years I’ve lived here.”
This decline in viewership is caused by several factors. Often, people find it easiest to simply wait for movies to be released on streaming services and watch them at home. Junior Lucy Randall tends to favor at-home movies, as they are more cost-friendly and cozy.
“I prefer watching movies at home just because it is a lot cheaper and sometimes the experience is better [than in theaters],” Randall said.
However, Randall acknowledges that there are times when watching movies in theaters pays off.
“There are certain cases where the movie theater is more fun,” Randall said. “If there’s a movie that’s really going viral online, then maybe I’ll be encouraged to go see it in the theater.”
The pattern of increased attendance as a result of social media promotion and trends is stark: based on analytics of activity online by the social media analysis company Meltwater, Gen Z is far more likely to attend theaters at least once a month than any other generation as a result of virality. Randall believes the surge of movies going viral online incentivizes attendance because Gen Zers are drawn to participate in popular movie trends.
“I definitely think that social media is bringing movie theaters back,” Randall said. “There are a lot of movies that are going viral, and a lot of people go to the cinema and dress up. There’s a whole experience added to it.”
This hype surrounding certain movies causes the viewing experiences to be filled with enthusiasm, with viral movies like Despicable Me and A Minecraft Movie bringing out costumed viewers in hordes.
“When everyone was going to watch the Despicable Me movie [in 2024], everyone was dressing up in suits and showing up really well dressed,” Randall said. “With the Minecraft movie, everyone was getting really excited about all the jokes and memes.”
First-grade WIS student Theo Hill was among those who went to watch A Minecraft Movie in theaters due to its popularity.
“It was worth going to the movies to see the Minecraft movie because it was a cooler experience [than seeing it at home],” Hill said. “It was also nice because I got a box of Sour Patch Kids.”
This tendency to want refreshments while watching a movie in theaters, though it can add to the experience, drives up the total cost; elevated pricing often further lessens the appeal of a future return to the cinema. WIS junior Martin Ferreira-Uribe remarks that he sometimes spends as much on food as he does on the ticket itself.
“If a ticket is $15 to $20, I think I’d spend around $30 with food included,” Ferreira-Uribe said.
Butler suspects these exorbitant price levels are the result of struggling theaters attempting to compensate for the low attendance. This causes a downward spiral of attendance, with the raised prices ultimately threatening to scare away any remaining attendees.
“Prices go up as they try to make profit, which just ends up being another reason not to go,” Butler said.
Because the alternative of watching movies at home is significantly cheaper, viewers like Butler simply choose to spend money on streaming plans rather than in theaters.
“For the price of one movie in theaters, you could pay for a streaming service for a month,” Butler said. “And who even wants to go without the full theater experience of popcorn and drinks.”
For people who don’t want to stay home, there are still cheaper screening options than going to large theaters like AMC.
“Generally, just because movies are getting so expensive, people are more inclined to watch movies at home or just go to drive-in movie events or outdoor movie screenings where it’s a lot cheaper,” Randall said.
To combat the steep decline in viewership, AMC is adapting and finding new ways to make money and bring in customers. Among the highest-grossing movies in the May 2025 box office were several re-released movies, an effective technique that brought in fans of the classics. For example, for its 25th anniversary, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith racked up $42.2 million globally, per the Walt Disney Company, catapulting it to No. 2 at the box office.
To help bring in traffic on Wednesdays, the slowest day of the week for AMC, they recently announced a plan to reduce Wednesday ticket prices by 50% over the summer. This initiative has caught the attention of many, including junior Sarah Murphy, who is hopeful about the impact of the price reduction.
“I heard about the half-off ticket deals AMC’s doing on Wednesdays,” Murphy said. “I think I’ll actually start going to the movies.”
By Tindra Jemsby
