• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, 7 hours ago

Theatrical domestic movies made a slight comeback in 2025 --  mostly due to some steady franchises making good business.

Beyond content themes, how did specific audience segments react? The jury is still out.

Giving a broad overview of older moviegoers, a new study from AARP cites some supportive current results, including that the 50-plus audience spends more than $10 billion on streaming and movies.

In addition, it says 81% of adults 18 and older believe movies and TV shows shape the way people view aging. And this counts for something. But is that an accurate portrayal?

We may need to read between the lines. For example, the AARP says around one-third says a movie or TV show has made them “feel more positive about aging”.

Perhaps it would be good to know whether this is higher than it was one year ago or five years ago. The study surveyed 2,013 adults age 18 and older during the first week in November 2025.

Traditionally, younger audiences drive theatrical business -- especially in the summer, with big-name fantasy/adventure franchise movies, and especially with the higher monthly theater attendance.

In recent years, some analysts have focused on a trend of some adult-skewing theatrical movies shifting more to streaming.

Still, at the end of the calendar year and starting in the new year, more adult-skewing movies with adult themes make strong appearances -- partly because of award seasons -- the Oscars, the Golden Globes, etc. -- that starts up after the first of the year.

So movies like “Hamnet” and “Is This Thing On?” -- films with more adult viewing themes -- get strong play in movie theaters, and then on streamers.

Even then, the survey adds another wrinkle -- perhaps there are less accurate portrayals and content in movies and TV in terms of the details of older peoples' lives -- especially dating, romance, love and intimacy.

Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed say storylines around dating, intimacy, and love under-represent the full spectrum of ages. And among older people -- 65 and older -- only 16% they feel accurately reflected in romantic roles.

It comes down to where the dollars are going.

Those older 50-plus audiences contribute 31% to 33% of domestic box-office revenue, according to industry estimates.

In 2025, total box office revenue, according to Box Office Mojo, inched up 1% from the previous year to $8.66 billion -- and that means anywhere from $2.6 billion to $2.9 billion came from patrons from that older crowd.

Although small by comparison to younger audiences, AARP has portrayed older moviegoers (and TV viewers/consumers) as being more stable, and that those 50 and up as having “significant market potential.”

In a fast moving, fractionalizing entertainment industry, are there any meaningful gains to be made via older consumers?