INTHEBLACK March 2025 - Magazine - Page 39
WHO’S GOING TO THE CINEMA?
When television was popularised in the 1950s, doomsayers claimed it would cause the death
of cinema, says Matthew Carter, managing partner of Above The Line Accounting. The same
argument was made when VHS was introduced, then again with DVDs.
It is no different with streaming, says Carter.
“However, the cinematic experience is such
a unique one,” he says. “You’re in a dark room
with a huge screen and no interruptions.
You’re completely immersed in the story.”
Data from Statista confirms that box office
sales globally have now surpassed pre-COVID-19
levels, with the cinema market projected to reach
A$138.17 billion in 2025.
In Australia, cinema revenue is projected to
reach A$2.8 billion this year, growing to nearly
A$3.2 billion in 2029. Along the way, tastes
change, as do types of viewers and
their preferences.
Currently, the most habitual moviegoers
are Gen Z, those born between 1996 and 2010,
according to a report from Sarah Bay-Cheng,
dean of the School of the Arts, Media,
Performance & Design, and professor of Theatre
and Performance Studies at York University
in Toronto. They typically attend one movie
every week.
Younger audiences are propping up the cinema
sector, as they traditionally have. In Australia
specifically, according to Screen Australia,
66 per cent of Australians attend the cinema
at least once per year, with an average of about
seven visits per person per year.
When Gen Z make their once-a-week visit,
what are they most keen to watch? A report from
NSS Magazine says they crave horror movies, just
as millennials once flocked to “chick flicks”.
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 39
