“The Latino audience is very, very important to the bottom line for movie theaters and for Hollywood,” Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore senior media analyst, tells TheWrap
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Latino and Hispanic moviegoers are helping propel big-budget movies to box office success — a welcome shot in the arm as the 2024 box office struggles to come back to life following a pandemic and two crippling labor strikes.
Recent tentpole releases like “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” and “Inside Out 2” (fresh off a record-breaking opening weekend) have all seen significant numbers of Latino and Hispanic moviegoers. They are disproportionally higher ticket buyers than other demographic groups because they tend to go to movies in larger groups of family and friends, according to research from management consultant McKinsey.
Case in point: “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” the latest and now most successful entry in the MonsterVerse franchise at $571 million worldwide, counted on Latinos and Hispanics for 35% of its audience, just behind Caucasians at 36%, with Asian/other at 18% and Black viewers at 17%. The film played well across the board, with men making up 62% of ticket buyers, but the Hispanic and Latino audience was a defining factor in some areas, according to data from Warner Bros.
The opening weekend for “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” has also benefited from a multicultural audience that is 44% Black, 26% Latino and Hispanic, 18% Caucasian, 8% Asian and 4% other.
“Going out to the movie theater with a group of your friends and family in that communal environment of the movie theater is something that has traditionally been a big part of the entertainment diet of the Latino audience, and that’s fantastic for theaters,” Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore senior media analyst, told TheWrap. “Selling one ticket at a time or two is one thing, but being able to have an entire family or group of friends and family go to a movie theater, that’s gold at the box office.”
It’s not just action movies capitalizing on Latino turnout. Family films play huge with the demo as well. Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” drew a 36% Latino and Hispanic audience on Father’s Day weekend, a higher share than any Pixar film outside “Coco.” The sequel’s ability to resonate with the demo is translating into boffo ticket sales and great walk up business.
The Pixar sequel scored a whopping $155 million during opening weekend, the second-highest North American opening for an animated film ever. It’s so big, it’s already put the box office ahead of schedule on its road to recovery.
“For the Latino audience, it’s the tradition that holds for many families of all backgrounds, but certainly we’re seeing in the demographic data and in the numbers that the Latino audience is very, very important to the bottom line for movie theaters and for Hollywood,” Dergarabedian added.
These results align with broader trends identified in a recent McKinsey report that showed that Latinos are the most avid filmgoers per capita domestically. Despite comprising 19% of the U.S. population, Latinos account for 24% of film ticket sales, 29% of daily mobile TV viewers and 24% of streaming subscribers, according to “Latinos in Hollywood: Amplifying voices, expanding horizons.”
The McKinsey findings revealed that Latino viewership doubles when Latinos are represented on- or off-screen (meaning talent behind the camera — writers, directors and producers), underscoring the importance of authentic portrayals and inclusive storytelling.
For movie theaters struggling to keep the lights on, it’s become clear that successfully engaging multicultural audiences, particularly Latino and Hispanic moviegoers, is a key to achieving breakout success. And following a dismal May, Latino and Hispanic audiences are fueling a growth pattern that will be key to returning to pre-pandemic box office levels.
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