TheGrill 2016: Mobile Is the Key to Reviving Movie Ticket Sales, Says Movio's Will PalmerTheWrap

“The winner of the mobile race will be the winner of the ticketing race,” said Movio CEO Will Palmer, in a preview to his panel next week about the future of moviegoing at TheGrill 2016, which kicks off Monday September 26. “The way the social channels are headed towards e-commerce, studios will be able to create content that will perform really well within these social channels. Those will be the biggest changes — mobile, and the ability to ticket natively within social apps.”

Currently, only 25 percent of movie tickets in the United States are sold online, compared to a stunning 80 percent in China, a topic that will be explored at the conference. What’s the reason for that gap?

Palmer believes that once mobile and social ticketing methods are widely implemented, along with the data tools that Movio offers, North American movie ticket sales could return to early 2000’s numbers, or better.

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“That will be possible when the programming is managed in such a way that it complements itself rather than cannibalizing itself,” said Palmer. “When that piece gets sorted, coupled with the data that studios are now using to decide what to make, we are going to see some growth.”

At TheGrill 2015, Palmer focused on the lack of movies for women, despite a Movio study showing that films targeting female baby boomers and millennials — the audiences statistically least likely to watch tentpole releases — tend to perform better at the box office relative to their budget than tentpoles do.

The same study also found that 54 percent of female baby boomers attend movies before 5 p.m., compared to only 33 percent of millennial women.

“These trends help answer a major problem in the cinema business,” Palmer said, “which is, What do you do with all of the distressed inventory during the day?”

Also Read: TheGrill 2016 Preview: Why Social Media Is Vital To China's Movie Ticket Sales

Palmer and Movio have been gathering audience data via theater chain loyalty programs for every major U.S. film released since January 2014. At the time of the conference last year, Movio had analyzed audience data from 310 films total. By now, Palmer estimates, that figure has nearly doubled.

“We have over 100 million customer records,” he added.

The more films Movio compiles in its database, the more in-depth, targeted and valuable the company’s flagship analytics software becomes to studios and film exhibitors, who use it to help decipher how specific audience demographics are responding to their theatrical releases.

Don’t miss this year’s Grill taking place Sept. 26-27, 2016, at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, check out all the speakers here. Buy your ticket before they sell out!

The Scene at TheGrill 2015: TheWrap's Media Leadership Conference (Photos)

TheWrap's editor in chief Sharon Waxman kicked off the sixth annual TheGrill Conference Day 1.
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"Empire" co-creator/writer Danny Strong (left) and producer Brian Grazer spoke onstage during the first day of TheWrap's 6th Annual TheGrill.
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Producer Brian Grazer spoke onstage during the first day of TheWrap's 6th Annual TheGrill.
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"Empire" co-creator/writer Danny Strong and producer Brian Grazer spoke onstage with Sharon Waxman during the first day of TheWrap's 6th Annual TheGrill.
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"Empire" co-creator/writer Danny Strong and producer Brian Grazer spoke onstage during the first day of TheWrap's 6th Annual TheGrill.
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"Empire" co-creator/writer Danny Strong and producer Brian Grazer spoke onstage with Sharon Waxman during the first day of TheWrap's 6th Annual TheGrill.
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Maker Studios CEO Ynon Kreiz spoke onstage during Day 1 of TheGrill 2015.

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Maker Studios CEO Ynon Kreiz (left) spoke onstage with AwesomenessTV founder and CEO Brian Robbins (right) during Day 1 of TheGrill 2015.

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Brian Robbins, founder & CEO of AwesomenessTV, spoke onstage during the first day of TheWrap's 6th Annual TheGrill.

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REDEF CEO Jason Hirschhorn spoke onstage with TheWrap's editor in chief Sharon Waxman on Day 1 of TheGrill 2015.
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Edelman president of strategic partnerships and global integration Gail Becker presented results of new consumer study on Day 1 of TheGrill 2015.

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Edelman president of strategic partnerships and global integration Gail Becker presented results of new consumer study on Day 1 of TheGrill 2015.

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Robert Kyncl, chief business officer at YouTube, spoke about the platform's growth rate during Day 1 of TheWrap's 6th Annual TheGrill.

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Robert Kyncl, chief business officer at YouTube, spoke about the platform's growth rate during Day 1 of TheWrap's 6th Annual TheGrill.

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Jason Hirschhorn talked to Kyncl about YouTube's growth and challenges at the first day of TheWrap's 6th Annual TheGrill.

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Andrew Glasgow, SVP at Viacom Scratch, spoke about the declining attention span of Americans during the first day of TheWrap's 6th Annual TheGrill conference.

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Nancy Dubuc, president & CEO of A+E Networks, spoke about the disruption of cable TV during the first day of TheWrap's 6th Annual TheGrill.

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Nancy Dubuc, president & CEO of A+E Networks, spoke about the disruption of cable TV during the first day of TheWrap's 6th Annual TheGrill.

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Dawn Ostroff, president of Conde Nast Entertainment, attended the first day of TheWrap's 6th Annual TheGrill.

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Van Toffler attended the first day of TheWrap's 6th Annual TheGrill.

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From left to right: TheWrap's executive editor Joseph Kapsch, "So You Think You Can Dance" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, Electus founder and chairman Ben Silverman, PactUS president David Lyle, and "Big Brother" executive producer Allison Grodner.
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PactUS president David Lyle discussed the state of reality TV during Day 2 of TheGrill.

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"Big Brother" executive producer Allison Grodner discussed the state of reality TV during Day 2 of TheGrill.
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Nigel Lythgoe discussed the state of reality TV on Day 2 of TheGrill.
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Electus founder and chairman Ben Silverman talked the state of reality TV during Day 2 of TheGrill.
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CNBC reporter Julia Boorstin attended TheWrap's sixth annual TheGrill conference at The Montage Beverly Hills.
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Conde Nast Entertainment president Dawn Ostroff discussed content creation on Day 2 of TheGrill.
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Box founder and CEO Aaron Levie discussed content protection with TheWrap's editor in chief Sharon Waxman on Day 2 of TheGrill.
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Golden Globe nominee Maria Bello discusses her life and career during Day 2 of TheGrill
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Golden Globe nominee Maria Bello discusses her life and career during Day 2 of TheGrill
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From left to right: Movio co-founder and chief executive Will Palmer, Fandango president Paul Yanover, Skydance Media CCO Dana Goldberg, IMAX's head of international marketing Roger Pollock, Universal president of worldwide marketing Josh Goldstine, and TheWrap's Deputy Managing Editor Thom Geier discussed the moviegoing experience on Day 2 of TheGrill.
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IMAX's head of international marketing Roger Pollock discussed the moviegoing experience on Day 2 of TheGrill.
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Fandango president Paul Yanover discussed the moviegoing experience on Day 2 of TheGrill.
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Skydance Media CCO Dana Goldberg discussed the moviegoing experience on Day 2 of TheGrill.
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Movio co-founder and chief executive Will Palmer discussed the moviegoing experience on Day 2 of TheGrill.
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Universal president of worldwide marketing Josh Goldstine discussed the moviegoing experience on Day 2 of TheGrill.
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Steven Amato, CEO & chief content officer of Contend and Sharon Waxman, founder & CEO of TheWrap spoke onstage during the "Drones and Hollywood" panel at TheWrap's 6th Annual TheGrill.
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Co-founder and chief executive of Movio Will Palmer held a discussion regarding "What Women Want: Unlocking Box Office Revenue" at TheWrap's 6th Annual TheGrill.
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Joseph Atkinson, U.S. Advisory Leader for the Entertainment, Media & Communications Practice at PwC, spoke onstage at TheWrap's 6th Annual TheGrill.
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Twitter and Uber investor Chris Sacca talks investing in the tech space during Day 2 of TheGrill
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Evolution Media Group founder and co-managing partner Rick Hess talks about financing media during Day 2 of TheGrill
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Former MTV president Van Toffler talks about his new company during Day 2 of TheGrill
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Lloyd Braun, Founder & CEO of Whalerock Industries during Day 2 of TheGrill
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Mark Terbeek, Partner at Greycroft, Jesse Jacobs, President of The Chernin Group and Brian Weinstein, Head of Corporate Finance Group of CAA during Day 2 of TheGrill
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Steven Haft, SVP Innovation of Time Inc., Sanjay Sharma, President & COO of All Def Digital, Christian Meinberger, SVP Content Programming & Production at Studio 71, and Tobias Bauckhage, CEO and co-founder of Moviepilot during Day 2 of TheGrill
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Steven Haft, SVP Innovation of Time Inc. and Adam Smith, Partner at United Entertainment Group during Day 2 of TheGrill
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