Hope for movie theaters and restaurants is coming in the form of younger generations hungry for more in-person experiences.
That’s according to a study from National Research Group in collaboration with The Wrap, which found audiences of all ages (but especially Gen Z and Gen Alpha) express a desire to reconnect with reality as a response to how isolated technology has made society.
“The majority of consumers believe that real-world experiences are more meaningful, more authentic to their true identities, and more conducive to building relationships with others,” NRG reports.
Out of 3,500 surveyed consumers between the ages of 13 and 64, 61% agreed that “real-world experiences feel more meaningful and memorable than digital ones,” with only 12% arguing that digital experiences can be equally meaningful and memorable. Likewise, 53% shared that they feel more like themselves while in the real world rather than online, and 56% feel more connected to people in the real world rather than online.
The study also found Americans expressing a greater interest in in-person events than at-home activities across four out of five key categories: movies, sports, gaming and dining. The only holdout was music — which makes sense considering the massive gulf in commitment between queuing an artist up on streaming and making the lengthy and pricey trek out to a full concert.
“Despite being the most digitally fluent generations in history, they’re also among the most eager to spend more of their free time offline, whether that’s going to the movies or simply playing video games with friends in the same physical space,” the report said.
The key demographics yearning for these live experiences may surprise readers. While Gen Z and Gen Alpha have both largely grown up in a world with entertainment constantly at their fingertips, these two generations demonstrate the largest enthusiasm in live experiences rather than remaining at home.
For example, out of 6,100 surveyed, 59% of Gen Alpha prefers watching movies in theaters more than at home, while 50% prefers attending sporting events in-person. Compare that to Gen X, where only 46% prefers watching movies in theaters and 42% prefer attending sporting events in-person.
The song remains the same across film, sports, video games and music, with Gen Alpha and Gen Z consistently being the two age groups most interested in live entertainment. The only exception is dining, where Gen Alpha is the most interested in dining out over ordering takeout or delivery, but Gen Z is the least interested. All four age demographics, however, had more 50% of those surveyed interested in dining out over dining at home.
What drives the Gen Alpha/Gen Z interest in live experiences? According to NRG, it’s the social aspect of being in a real environment with other people.
“In the case of moviegoing, for example, older generations are more likely to say they enjoy going because of the quality of the sound or the picture quality in theaters relative to what’s on offer at home. Younger Americans, on the other hand, go because they enjoy the experience of spending time with their friends and family, experiencing communal moments of joy and delight with others in the same physical space,” the report said. “That’s also why kids and teens are the most likely to say that they prefer going to a busy theater over a quiet one: it’s about the energy in the room as much as the story on the screen.”
The report noted a number of ways that theaters explicitly have attempted to drive in-person viewership in recent years, selling audiences on specialty experiences that can’t be recreated at home. “One Battle After Another” sold out screenings in the revived VistaVision format of the 1950s and early 1960s, while Ryan Coogler explained to audiences the differences between film formats to encourage 70mm IMAX viewings of “Sinners.”
A number of experiential or novelty screenings popped up in 2025: “The Long Walk” invited a select audience to watch the film walking on treadmills, “Bugonia” hosted an early screening where audiences had to shave their heads to enter. The Sphere in Las Vegas, meanwhile, made headlines for its immersive and AI-expanded adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz” for the venue’s specialty spherical format.
We’ve also seen theaters increasingly try their hands at programming screenings that aren’t movie-based in recent years, such as the “Stranger Things” finale and WWE WrestleMania. Theatrical events like these can prove crucial in a time when concerns over ticket prices to live sporting and music events continue to mount.
When NRG surveyed 3,000 participants between the ages of 13 and 54 over what non-movie content they’d attend in a movie theater, 64% expressed an interest in seeing landmark TV episodes (like finales and premieres), while 57% would see other special TV episodes (like reunions or holiday specials). 48% said they would watch live sports in a movie theater, and 47% were interested in other live events like televised concerts, but only 35% would watch an award ceremony in a theater.
“Theatrical spaces,” the study concludes, “are increasingly being reimagined as experiential hubs that can offer viewers something fundamentally different from what they’d get in their bedrooms or their living rooms.”
