• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, Today

Although all things streaming TV have brought growing competition and concern to the theatrical movie business, movie theater association Cinema United says 77% of all Americans 12-74 visited a movie theater over the past 12 months.

Cinema United says “movie theaters connected with a wide range of consumers this past year from building loyalty by investing in experiences to provide something for everyone on the big screen.”

In better news for movie theater business, young Gen Z consumers are increasing their attendance at movie theaters by 25% in the most recent 12-month period, according to the National Research Group, per Cinema United.

Younger consumers ages 10-24 cite entertainment/sport as their number one preference for seeing a movie on opening weekend. Attending a music concert is fifth, and sporting events in sixth place.

NRG says that in the past year there was a 33% increase in the number of people who have seen at least six movies per year as of August 2025, compared to 25% for the same time period a year ago.

Cinema United says movie theater companies have made $1.5 billion in upgrades in efforts to attract moviegoers into theaters. For example, there was a 15% spike in loyalty in movie club members in North America to total 136 million.

The report estimates there will be 115 wide movie film releases in 2026 -- up from 111 in 2025 and 94 in 2024 -- from the major Hollywood studies and big independent distributors.

All this comes as new estimates for streaming continue to rise -- even as the business hits maturity in pricing and amid consumer concerns.

Parks Associates estimates the average monthly spend per TV household on streaming and video will climb to $122.74 a month by 2028, up from $101.25 in 2020. This is expected to level off between 2028 and 2030, settling at $122.04.