"Fewer People Visit Theaters, But 64.7% Still Go for Large Screens and Sound"

Embrain Survey: Moviegoing Becomes a Lifestyle Activity for Millennials and Gen Z
The Experiential Value of Theaters Remains Strong in the OTT Era

Movie theaters in downtown Seoul are bustling with citizens. Photo by Yonhap News

Although the rise of OTT platforms has led to a decrease in theater attendance, the immersive experience provided by large screens and sound systems is still regarded as a strong competitive advantage.

On October 21, market research firm Embrain Trend Monitor released the results of its "2025 Movie Viewing Attitudes and Theater Content Survey," conducted among 1,000 adults aged 19 to 59 nationwide. According to the findings, 77.7% of respondents said they visit movie theaters less frequently than before. While 72.3% expressed interest in movies, this figure has been declining since 2019, when it stood at 81.5%.

When asked about their reasons for visiting theaters, 64.7% cited the appeal of large screens and sound systems. The percentage of those who believe "movies must be entertaining" rose to 56.4%, up from 43.3% in 2019. This indicates that movies are still recognized as a major form of cultural content.

When choosing a movie, the most influential factors were the storyline (54.9%) and genre (45.4%). Notably, among people in their 20s and 30s, there was a higher emphasis on box office performance (30.0% for those in their 20s, 26.4% for those in their 30s) and ratings (24.8% for those in their 20s, 21.6% for those in their 30s). This clearly reflects a "time-to-performance" consumption tendency that prioritizes making choices with minimal risk of disappointment.

As for preferred genres, crime films ranked highest at 43.8%, followed by science fiction and space-themed movies at 32.6%, and films based on true stories at 30.0%.

Movie theaters in downtown Seoul are bustling with citizens. Photo by Yonhap News

The percentage of people who watched movies in theaters dropped from 87.9% in 2019 to 76.3% this year. However, a high 72.0% still responded that they watch visually or acoustically impressive films at the theater. More than half (59.1%) said they intentionally seek out special theaters such as IMAX or 4D. In particular, Millennials & Gen Z are increasingly enjoying the act of moviegoing as a "lifestyle activity," with 43.4% of those in their 20s and 44.8% of those in their 30s making photo tickets, and 37.7% of those in their 20s and 26.4% of those in their 30s purchasing theater merchandise.

Satisfaction with special theaters was also high. 87% of respondents said they had experienced immersive theaters such as IMAX, 4D, or VR, and the majority evaluated these as offering "greater immersion than regular movies" (68.9%) and "a special experience" (70.0%). Furthermore, 84.9% said they intend to use these types of theaters more frequently in the future.

Additionally, 61.5% of respondents said, "In the era of OTT, movie theaters will become spaces that offer special experiences." This suggests that the theater industry may shift its focus toward "experiential content" in the future.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.