TikTok Users Are More Likely to Visit Movie Theaters, Study Finds

TikTok users are more likely to visit movie theaters than people who don’t use TikTok, according to new statistics released by the short video app.

Specifically, TikTok users are 44% more likely to go watch a movie in theaters at least once a month than non-users, results from the new study, released by the platform on Tuesday, say.

TikTok’s research shows that its role in movie marketing is growing more powerful as users flock there to discuss their favorite shows and films, as well as find new ones to check out. For example, the Movies & TV category is the 4th most viewed content category on TikTok, the app says.

The research was derived from a combination of TikTok’s own internal data as well as research conducted over the past three years by outside firms like Kantar, Material, and Metrixlab.

The study also found that 1 in 3 moviegoers on TikTok reported that the app was what prompted them to watch a new movie in the theater. 47% of TikTok users surveyed also said that they first heard about a new movie that was coming to theaters on the app, and 36% said they purchased a ticket to the movie after discovering it there.

As for the users’ reasons for watching movies in theaters rather than on streaming or elsewhere, 71% said it’s because they enjoy the theater experience. 72% said they like to go to the movie theater with friends, partners, or children.

Interestingly, the genre of the movie was the most important factor in deciding whether to go to the movies for 67% of TikTok moviegoers. 62% said they were influenced to go to the theater by watching a trailer for a movie, and 58% said sneak peeks of movies influenced their decision to go.

More From the Survey of TikTok Users

This is useful information for movie marketers looking to replicate the success of recent blockbuster films like Universal Pictures’ Twisters and Sony Pictures’ Bad Boys: Ride or Die. TikTok’s report included a case study on both films, which benefited from going all-in on TikTok marketing strategies.

Twisters — the 2024 tornado action/thriller starring Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Kiernan Shipka — did $81 million at the box office during its opening weekend. Its TikTok content strategy included working with TikTok creators in the #filmtok and LatinX communities. Before Twisters even premiered, its TikTok account already had nearly 200,000 followers, and Twisters-related hashtags had over 149 million likes, 951,000 comments, and 12.9 million shares, TikTok says.

A big part of that marketing effort also included native content — that means paid content that is designed to be perceived by users as a natural part of a social media platform rather than an obvious advertisement.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die also used TikTok influencers to its advantage by leveraging one of the biggest creators around, @khabylame, and his 162.8 million followers. Khaby had a cameo in the movie and also shot custom content with stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, which was shared across social media channels.

That was a wise move, considering that after genre, the second most important factor that influenced TikTok moviegoers to go see a movie in theaters was actors, 62% of TikTok moviegoers said.

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“I think entertainment clients that really lean into the platform and are able to show not just the uniqueness of their talent, but the uniqueness of their IP and really taking us behind the scenes of what happens in a lot of their their movies and the production phases, it really drives affinity and resonance for the entertainment users on our community to want to go and consume that content in real time,” Edvin Dapcevic, Head of Industry, Entertainment at TikTok, said in a statement provided to MovieMaker.

Paid campaigns on TikTok can be really lucrative for films. According to the study, paid campaigns on TikTok have been shown to increase users’ interest in going to see films across five genres: there was a +3.2% boost in interest for Romance films, +2.3% for Animation, +1.8% for Horror, +1.0% for Comedy, and +0.9% for Action.

The study also suggests that TikTok has value for movie marketers not just leading up to release, but for a month after the film comes out. 77% of users surveyed said they would rather see a movie within 2 weeks after it was released, but 18% said they waited 3-4 weeks to watch movies in theaters.

The opinions of TikTok creators, also known as influencers, are shown to have value, with users who found entertainment videos on TikTok being 1.3 times more likely to watch reaction videos from creators. The study also found that 80% of TikTok users have engaged with their favorite show or movie on the app.

Overall, it seems that movie marketers would be wise to use TikTok to their advantage.

Main Image: TikTok logo