What Gen Z’s romance with cinema says about culture, advertising and attention

In the wake of the pandemic, the death of cinema became a regular talking point surrounding the industry. When the pandemic struck in 2020, admissions dropped 132 million from the year prior. Home cinema releases and straight-to-streaming became the norm when the cinema wasn’t an option, for many suggesting a version of the industry where viewing from the comfort of your own home could be the sign of things to come. After the fact, cinema then had to grapple with not just handling the recovery of their industry in the wake of various lockdown measures but also competing with the growing popularity of streaming. In the UK, nearly 88% of adults now subscribe to at least one streaming service, and spend, on average, £50.60 per month on these subscriptions.

Yet, despite this, recent figures and cultural conversations suggest cinema is making a comeback. Much of this recovery appears to be fuelled by younger audiences - Gen Z in particular. So, what is drawing these audiences back to the silver screen, and what does this generation’s enthusiasm for the medium tell us about cinema’s role to play in culture, attention and advertising today?

Cinema is recovering

Gower Street Analytics forecasts 2026 as being the best year at the global box office since the start of the pandemic, with a prediction of $35 billion, beating the previous post-pandemic record of 2023 (the year of Barbenheimer) at $33.9 billion. So, what makes 2026 so special? This year has been consistent with its releases of big family films (GOAT, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Toy Story 5), as well as big Blockbusters (The Devil Wears Prada 2, Project Hail Mary, The Odyssey), and indie A24 hits (The Drama, Backrooms, Undertone) - a regular variety of films pulling in different audiences week by week.   

As the box office numbers suggest, cinema viewing has been on the up every year since the pandemic. Whilst the rise in straight-to-streaming and home releases during COVID at first may have seemed like the beginning of the end of filmgoing – box office revenue in the UK saw an increase of £693m from 2020 to 2025. Even though this is still a way off returning to pre-pandemic numbers (box office revenue in 2019 stood at £1.252bn compared to £990m in 2025), we’re still seeing people return to the cinema with keen interest more and more every year, whether they’re going to watch the next big Blockbuster, to spend time with friends and family, to be part of the next big cinematic cultural moment, or to unplug for a while.   

Recently, US-based ticketing company Fandango released research indicating Gen Z to be the most frequent group of cinemagoers, with 87% saying they have seen at least one film in a cinema in the past twelve months. Although this study looked at American adults, we see similar results in the UK – 78% of 16-34s are cinemagoers according to DCM, and according to GWI, at the start of last year, 40% of Gen Z had been to the cinema three to five times in the previous six months (the most of any generation questioned), with only 1% saying they didn’t go the cinema at all.   

Why Gen Z are going to the cinema

Discovery

Gen Z are disproportionately important in the post-pandemic recovery of cinema as the medium’s most engaged consumers, and it's no wonder when we look at how social media is influencing this. This generation (16-34s) spends, on average, 2 hours 48 minutes on social media per day, with TikTok being the platform most associated with this cohort. Cinema United and TikTok published a report in April on the power of the platform in driving growth in cinema attendance. Last year, an average of 6.5 million posts about film and TV were shared daily on TikTok, with the hashtags #FilmTok and #MovieTok garnering 3 million posts between them, and a 54% year-on-year increase. Furthermore, 47% of users reported having discovered a new film coming to the cinema through TikTok, and 42% then looked up showtimes because of this.  

Likewise, Letterboxd – the social platform used for reviewing and discovering film - has been credited as a major source in the renewed enthusiasm for film with younger cohorts. The app boasts 26 million users (amongst those include celebrity users ranging from Charli xcx to Martin Scorsese), with its most users being between the ages of 18 to 24, followed by those 25 to 34. Fittingly, last year, the Independent called the platform the “Gen Z fad that might just save cinema”. 

Disconnection

Gen Z are the first generation to have truly grown up online; where older generations remember the novelty of new tech adoption, this new generation exists in a world where connectivity is the inescapable default. With how all-encompassing it can often feel that the internet has become in the last ten to fifteen years (74% of all adults and 88% of 16-34s use social media in a typical week), perhaps it’s no surprise that this generation is also keenly interested in bringing back analogue. We see this in the increase in popularity of owning DVDs, books and vinyl albums with this cohort. Elsewhere, young people feel their attention spans are decreasing - there is a marked desire to reclaim this, with many TikTok users posting about how they have ‘retrained their brains’ to allow for boredom and to concentrate for longer periods of time. The opportunity to ‘unplug’ and turn your phone off completely (or at the very least silence it and put it in your bag) for a few hours has become increasingly popular here – over 50% of Gen Z are actively exploring activities that limit screen time - and could definitely be at least some way towards explaining the popularity of the cinema with Gen Z.  One filmgoer told The Guardian how for her the cinema offers this respite – a “distraction-free zone”, helping her to say off her phone. Another reported that the ability to block out a few hours to himself and not be constantly accessible and aware of the news is the key reason why he likes visiting the cinema so much. 

Immersion

60% of 15-34s agreed that they liked going to the cinema as they can watch a film with no distractions. When comparing this to home viewing, we see this number increase – 66% agreed that watching a film at the cinema is different from watching one at home as you can get completely absorbed. Elsewhere, 56% reported second-screening (looking at a separate mobile device at the same time as viewing content) when watching films at home (whether on live TV or streaming services). Second-screeners were also more likely to often miss key events or details when watching TV/film at home due to being on their phones (60%). As a result, we see that 63% of second-screeners reported finding it useful when characters in film or TV remind the viewers of earlier plot points. 

Commenting on the different expectations between ‘cinema films’ and ‘streaming films’, Matt Damon spoke of his personal experience in writing a film for streaming and how certain accommodations are expected to be factored in for those who are second-screening whilst watching (i.e. reiterating plot points multiple times; big set pieces early on to grab attention). People then look to the cinema as a venue for an expected ‘better’ quality of film, where they are asked for their full attention and where they are willing to give it. 56% of 15-34s reported that when they really want to see a film, they want to see it on the big screen at the cinema. 

Why cinema matters culturally

Gen Z find film and TV to be nearly twice as influential as digital creators in shaping UK culture, according to a recent study from British Council, 38% believed UK film and TV would have the greatest cultural reference, identifying it as the strongest global export. 

Recently, The Guardian interviewed young people to ask why they enjoy visiting the cinema; one participant discussed how it offers the opportunity for “water cooler moments” in a way that they felt has been lost in the era of streaming. The proliferation of streaming services has resulted in television becoming increasingly siloed in recent years, meaning there is less shared experience in what we’re all sitting down and watching at home. Yet, in the cinema the same films are playing for everyone at the same time, offering the opportunity for a more collective experience – whether you watch with a group of people or by yourself. Here, cinema provides cultural moments with much more universality – when you hear a film is good, when you hear people talking about a film, how much more compelled are you to see that film in the cinema and join in?

Cinema leads culture and conversations – think the cultural behemoth of Barbie (both the Barbillion it made at the box office and all its various advertising partnerships), this year we’ve seen The Devil Wears Prada 2 following in their footsteps. Barbie – already a huge brand in its own right – reportedly had over one hundred brand partnerships, covering everything from the expected clothing lines to the more out-there offerings like Airbnb’s chance to stay in a life-size Barbie Dreamhouse. Beyond Barbie, we’ve seen other films follow suit of this brand partnership style – think the green and pink ubiquitousness of Wicked in 2024 and 2025, or this route more recently being made fun of slightly during the Marty Supreme press campaign. 

Returning to the success of #FilmTok and #MovieTok, Cinema United and TikTok’s report looked at a cross-section of cinema in four different films that premiered last year (The Housemaid, Sinners, Wicked: For Good, and Zootropolis 2) and saw a consistent pattern across them – as TikTok engagement with these films increased week-by-week, so also did the box office numbers. 

Why cinema matters commercially

The significance of Gen Z's enthusiasm for cinema extends beyond box office revenue. For advertisers, cinema's ability to attract young audiences in a focused environment creates opportunities that are increasingly rare elsewhere, and this is significant when noting how cinema’s reach amongst 16-24s is 56% higher than all adults. When it comes to pre-film advertising, 41% of 15-34s like to arrive in time to watch the ads before the trailers and film start, and 27% trust the advertising they see at the cinema. In a similar vein, 38% of 15-34s viewed cinema advertising as more ‘premium’ than other types of advertising. Cinema adverts have always been built into the experience – here they are expected compared to ‘newer’ channels such as streaming which have added advertising more recently; they are also less of a ‘break’ as with linear television viewing where you might use that time to make a drink or go to the toilet, the time for pre-film cinema adverts is part of the build-up in anticipation to the film itself. It is also quite literally a very big screen that is hard not to look at. Sitting in a cinema (even if someone is still on their phone), it is much harder to avoid an advert compared to other channels – 96% of onscreen ad impressions are viewed, and 75% of cinema ads are watched for over 20 seconds.

Looking at cinemagoing families (CGF) for a moment, research from DCM showed that 70% of children in these families asked for something they had seen advertised at the cinema, and 70% of parents said they usually buy said product or service because of this. Elsewhere, 67% of CGF are reportedly less concerned about adverts their children see at the cinema compared to on other platforms, perhaps due to concerns of safety and regulation perceived to be lacking on other platforms popular with children such as YouTube (last year Ofcom reported that YouTube was the most popular first TV destination for Generation Alpha, with one in five of those aged from four to fifteen turning straight to the platform when they turn on the television). Although YouTube adverts fall under the same ASA rules as TV, there is no pre-approval, real-time scrutiny or enforcement unless complaints are made. Last year, the Liberal Democrats called for urgent regulation of advertising on YouTube due to the prevalence of ads including deepfake scams, fraudulent investment claims, false impersonations of public figures, false product claims, fake competitions, and scam diet pills. 

Here, cinema offers safety and security, and fewer worries surrounding seeing content inappropriate for younger audiences. 83% of CGF agree watching adverts and trailers is part of the cinema experience, and 65% were less concerned about the content their children see at the cinema compared to other platforms. 42% of all adults with young children (not specifically CGFs) also reported that they like to arrive at the cinema in time to watch the adverts. 

Conclusion

As 2026 proves to be a good year for cinema so far, we see increased interest across the board. Consumers aren’t keeping cinema alive solely due to their love of film – they're embracing the cinema as it provides a space for community, for cultural participation and focused attention in an increasingly fragmented digital world. People love cinema for these cultural, social and practical reasons, and once they’re in the door, brands have the opportunity of leveraging this safe-feeling premium environment that commands attention - ideal for communicating to a receptive audience.

Caris Brett is Senior Insight Lead at the IPA, and the co-author of the IPA Insight Report The Menopause: The change we need to see. Discover more research and analysis from the IPA Insight team.

The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and were submitted in accordance with the IPA terms and conditions regarding the uploading and contribution of content to the IPA newsletters, IPA website, or other IPA media, and should not be interpreted as representing the opinion of the IPA.