LAST UPDATE: FEB. 24, 2021
Tracking the Return to Normal: Entertainment
This tracker is part of a series from Morning Consult gauging when consumers will return to normal activities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more and sign up for alerts.
Movie theaters, concert venues and amusement parks were just some of the businesses forced to shutter their doors when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the United States in March 2020. And while some of these businesses have attempted to reopen and recover, not all consumers are ready to leave streaming behind and resume out-of-home entertainment. As vaccines are distributed, Morning Consult will continue to monitor consumer comfort in going to the movies, concerts, amusement parks, theaters and museums.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Roughly 3 in 10 Adults Say They Would Feel Comfortable at a Movie Theater Today: Comfort remains highest among millennials and Generation Z, with 37 percent of millennials and 38 percent of Gen Zers — an increase of 6 percentage points from the previous week — saying they would feel comfortable returning to a movie theater. Comfort among Democrats increased 5 points from the previous week, while comfort among Republicans held steady.
- 31% Say They Would Feel Comfortable Returning to Movie Theaters More Than Six Months From Now: Hollywood studios are in tune with what consumers want, as they continue to release films on streaming services. Comfort heading to the movies in the next month increased 1 point from last week to 18 percent. The share who said they would feel comfortable returning to theaters two to three months from now increased 3 points, while the share who said they would feel comfortable heading back in the next six months remained constant for a fourth week at 12 percent.
- Most Still Feel Most Comfortable With Museums: Comfort returning to museums ticked up 2 points to 33 percent. Comfort going to a concert remained steady, while the shares who said they currently feel OK going to an amusement park or theater performance increased 1 point and 3 points, respectively.
- More Than Half of Consumers Are Streaming TV Shows and Movies: The share of adults who said they stream TV shows at least once a week increased 4 points to 60 percent, while the share who said they stream movies at least once a week held steady at 51 percent. Consumers remained less enthused with Hollywood’s increased reliance on video on-demand releases, as only 18 percent said they rent movies digitally at least once a week.
Tracking the Return to Normal
“When will things return to normal?” is a common refrain murmured within political, business and health care leadership circles. To help answer this complicated question, Morning Consult is tracking a number of key indicators in its public opinion polling, from willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine to consumers’ comfort level in returning to leisure activities such as dining out to what people are streaming during the pandemic. We’ll be updating these pages every week with new data and analysis: