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Podcasts Take Two
Older Americans are going to the movies more
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Mar 25, 2013
Older Americans are going to the movies more
Nearly 6 million Americans in their 40s go to at least one movie a month, up from 3.3 million just two years ago.
In recent years, the movie industry has largely relied on sequels and franchises to drive movie goers to the box office.
More older Americans are going out to the movies, and they're going more often.
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Photo by Heritage Vancouver via Flickr Creative Commons
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Nearly 6 million Americans in their 40s go to at least one movie a month, up from 3.3 million just two years ago.

A new study of ticket buyers shows a fairly dramatic increase in the numbers of people over 40 who are so-called "frequent moviegoers."

According to the Motion Picture Assn. of America, almost 6 million Americans in their 40s go to at least one movie a month.  That's up from 3.3 million just two years ago.

The number of frequent moviegoers in their 50s and 60s also increased, though not as dramatically.

Still, Los Angeles Times entertainment reporter Rebecca Keegan doesn't think Hollywood is going to drop youth-oriented films to cater to the older market.  The gray hairs are showing up a bit more often, but Hollywood box office is still driven largely by the under-35 crowd.

But frequent moviegoers are the mainstay of the business.  Another MPAA survey found only about 10 percent of Americans see at least one movie every month.  But that 10 percent buys fully half of the movie tickets sold.