Study: Movie theater visits decreased 10% in 2025
Movie theater visits are decreasing, although independently-operated theaters appear to be weathering the storm better than chains.
New data from location intelligence provider Kalibrate reveals that U.S. movie theater visits fell by at least 10% year over year in 2025, comparing second- and third-quarter data from 2024 with the same periods last year.
Across major movie theater chains, average visit volumes declined by approximately 15% year over year. Regal Cinemas saw a decline of 12.2%, while Century Theatres experienced a sharper decrease of 20.3%, according to Kalibrate’s data. By contrast, independent movie theaters recorded a smaller decline of 8.6%, suggesting comparatively greater resilience.
Households earning over $100,000 annually show signs of pulling back more than other income groups, which Kalibrate says is notable given that moviegoing has historically skewed to those with more disposable income. The data also reveals a distinct year-over-year decline among Hispanic or Latino moviegoers, with this group reducing visits at a higher rate than other demographic segments.
Areas classified as “super urban”, “urban” and “light urban” experienced the largest year-over-year declines, with visits down 18%. In contrast, rural and exurban areas saw a much smaller decline of 5%.
As a result, some of the steepest drops were recorded in heavily urbanized states, including New Jersey and California, where dense markets did not translate into stronger foot traffic.
Several Western states bucked the national trend, recording increases of more than 5% in movie theater visits. These included Idaho, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Kalibrate found that the Midwest emerged as the most stable region overall when it came to movie theatre visits, with little to no decline in states such as Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio.
The profile of the moviegoing audience remains consistent in several ways, despite the decrease in visits, according to Kalibrate. Households earning over $100,000 account for 35.7% of movie theater visits, compared with 32.7% of households nationally. Age also remains a defining factor, as 15–40-year-olds are over-represented as moviegoers relative to the general population.
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“Moviegoing has not disappeared — but it is becoming more selective, and varied based on geography, and increasingly concentrated among younger and more affluent audiences,” noted Kalibrate. “Theatrical attendance seems to be shifting away from habitual behavior and toward event-driven visits and special occasions.”
Kalibrate’s full report on movie theatre visits can be found here.
