Young viewers are reviving box office growth

Hollywood breathed a sigh of relief. Gen Z isn’t just going to the movies, they’re also driving box office growth.

During the pandemic, when theaters closed and streaming became a dominant force in the media landscape, there was growing concern that this younger generation would shun the big screen as they grow into more engaged consumers.

But this generation, roughly 14 to 29 years old, is one of the most active movie-going demographics, going to more movies per year than some older generations, according to Fandango data.

In 2025, Gen Zers watched an average of seven movies in theaters, matching the average viewership of Millennials, while Gen Xers and baby boomers watched an average of about six movies, according to a study by Fandango.

“I think people are shocked that Gen Z is driving today’s moviegoing trends,” said Jason Dorsey, president and co-founder of the Generation Kinetics Center and co-author of Zconomy. “They’re like, ‘Oh, Gen Z doesn’t want to leave the house.’ That’s not true. Gen Z absolutely wants to leave the house – probably more than you think.”

Gen Z will account for nearly 40% of all North American movie audiences in 2025, according to data from Comscore.

As teens and 20-somethings become the dominant generation at the box office, the future of moviegoing is also being shaped, and studios and movie theaters are taking notice.

“Not only are Gen Z a growing proportion of our audience, they’re also appearing more frequently each year,” said Carrie Trotter, senior vice president of marketing. AMChe told CNBC. “So they’ve become one of our most important audiences, and I see them potentially becoming our absolute most important audience in the future.”

Adding to Gen Z’s affinity for movies is the fact that movies remain a form of inexpensive entertainment.

“Ticket prices have certainly gone up, but they’re on par with year-over-year inflation, if not lower,” said Steve Buck of movie data company Entelligence. “If you think about Gen Z, they’re cost-conscious, but their wallets are open.”

Gen Z came of age during the coronavirus pandemic, which Dorsey called a “generation-defining experience.” He said this generation has never known a time without social media or smartphones, grew up in a time of great uncertainty, and is incredibly cost-conscious.

“COVID-19 has uprooted all their plans,” Dorsey said. “They were in school, they were in college…everything was turned upside down and it lasted for a long period of time. So we see them being much more conscious about their finances. Generally speaking, I would say they are generally very conservative with money and much more frugal than we would expect from someone their age.”

As a result, a significant portion of Gen Z has turned to movie theater loyalty programs, such as AMC’s A-List, Regal Unlimited, and Cinemark’s Movie Club, that reward spend or allow users to watch multiple movies per month for a subscription fee.

“Gen Z is over-indexed in the AMC A-list tier, and their participation has tripled since the pandemic,” Trotter said, noting that AMC’s program also allows customers to book tickets for other loyalty members who are part of their friend group.

“We’re trying to be as frictionless as possible so we can encourage as much moviegoing and social atmosphere as possible,” she said.

At the Rutgers Cinema in Piscataway, New Jersey, general manager Alex DelVecchio keeps ticket prices low for students at nearby Rutgers University. Students who present their school ID will pay just $5 for matinee screenings and $9.50 for all other general admission tickets. That’s significantly cheaper than the national average of about $13.50, according to EntTelligence.

“We try to keep it as cheap as possible,” DelVecchio said.

But it’s not just about affordability. Mr. DelVecchio said the company is looking for ways to attract consumers, who are primarily college students, by offering promotions such as free slushies on Wednesdays.

For a Warner Bros. release. DelVecchio said that for 2017’s “IT: Chapter 1,” the company placed clowns in all theaters, placed red balloons throughout campus, had staff members wear yellow jackets and play with paper boats outside to imitate iconic scenes from the movie.

“We started selling everything out,” he said. “And once they get momentum, they can maintain it as long as they continue to play the way they want to.”

Gen Z is cautious about their spending, but they are willing to pay for experiences, especially social activities with friends that give them an excuse to step away from their phones.

“This is a way for them to spend time with friends and family, and that social experience is much more important than the movie itself they’re watching,” Trotter said. “But there’s also a bit of FOMO (fear of missing out), and they want to be part of the excitement, and that fan feeling is fueling their desire to be the first to see these movies and be part of the conversation that’s happening.”

And while Gen Z enjoys not using their phones while watching movies, they still use social media to share their thoughts on movies and see what others think about new and old titles.

Letterboxd, an online platform that allows movie fans to track the movies they’ve seen and leave reviews, is so ubiquitous among this generation that Hollywood has begun to refer to Gen Zers interchangeably as the Letterboxd generation.

The site currently has more than 29 million users, more than half of whom are under the age of 35. Through Letterboxd, Gen Z is relying more on community reviews than official film critic reviews when choosing movies to watch in theaters.

Of course, Gen Z has genre-specific tastes, and Hollywood seems to be influencing them.

Like older adults, this age group also flocks to movie theaters for horror and R-rated films. However, they differ from previous generations in their interest in anime and video games based on games they played in their childhood. Gen Z has also shown a penchant for leaning into movie-going nostalgia, preferring older re-released titles.

In 2025, “Minecraft Movie,” based on the popular online game, became the most-watched movie among Gen Z, according to data from EntTelligence. of warner bros The film grossed more than $424 million domestically during its theatrical run, making it the second-highest grossing film of the year, and $960 million worldwide.

meanwhile sony Crunchyroll’s “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Castle” had the highest proportion of Gen Z viewers, with 42% of tickets sold to this generation.

So far in 2026. universal “Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is the most-watched Gen Z movie. It secured $425 million domestically, making it the highest-grossing film of the year so far, and $982 million worldwide.

Box office analysts predict movies like disney Pixar’s “Toy Story 5,” Universal’s “Minions & Monsters,” Sony’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and Marvel’s “Avengers: Doomsday” all see a significant portion of their ticket sales coming from Gen Z audiences.

“I think theater has now really opened the door for Gen Z to have an in-person social experience,” Dorsey said. “It’s still fragile and this generation is still finicky, but there’s a huge opportunity for them based on the fact that they can create great in-person experiences like this in a more affordable way.”

Disclosure: Versant is the parent company of Fandango and CNBC.