In Cannes, the spotlight is on young people. The relationship teenagers and young adults have with cinema are considered important enough to warrant the simultaneous publication of two studies during the 77th Cannes Film Festival. The first poll, conducted by Kantar for the online news outlet Brut, breaks down the behavior of 16 to 30-year-olds and explores why they go to the movies. The "two strong motivating factors" clearly remain "the big screen, and socializing with friends." A trailer motivates the majority of people (68%) to see a movie in a theater. Unlike older movie-goers, videos or TikTok content are what drive this age group into theaters.
Going to the movies still appeals to young people. The authors of the study noted, however, that "the high price of tickets" is the main obstacle to attendance. Though they are willing to pay for a ticket, 16 to 30-year-olds are also looking for additional services, such as dinner, lunch or night screenings. One very encouraging sign for movie operators: 43% would see a movie in theaters even if it were playing at the same time on a streaming platform.
The study, conducted between March and April 2024 among 1,833 people in France (including 1,063 aged 16 to 30 and 770 aged 31 to 64), also revealed habits some people might not otherwise openly admit: Almost a quarter of young people sometimes look at their phone during a screening and 16% confessed to hiding the movies they watch from their friends "out of shame." No doubt out of embarrassment, they did not mention the names of any shameful films.
Societal issues seem essential to young people. For 36%, "society's current view of certain behaviors [sexual assault, violence, racism, homophobia] justifies certain films no longer being shown." They would also avoid watching a movie if one of the crew members had been accused or convicted of sexual assault or rape. The pollsters' specific questions also revealed that 45% of 16 to 30-year-olds think that a homosexual love story in Titanic would have made the movie primarily about homosexuality. In the same vein, three-quarters of those polled think that "Napoleon can only be played by a white man," but, for 45% of those polled, James Bond could be played by a black actor.
In terms of the environment, 30% consider it necessary to restrict filming locations, and 50% would like to see information about a movie's environmental footprint on its posters.
Does the film industry have a future in their eyes? Young audiences do not seem to see artificial intelligence as much of a threat – 40% say it is "a good thing" and 43% would see an AI-generated film. What about movie theaters? A quarter of those polled expect cinemas to disappear one day, a sign that they are more pessimistic than older people on this issue (21%).
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