Gen Z Is The Most Likely To Cancel Netflix And Go To The Movies, Study Shows

You may remember all the "Millennials are killing..." conversations percolating through the cultural discourse in the early 2010s. Millennials were accused of putting down everything from brick-and-mortar stores and cable TV to the diamond industry. Early on, it looked like the buck was getting passed to the next generation, Gen Z. But now a new narrative is developing. Instead of being scapegoated for the decline of certain industries (amongst other tech myths about Gen Z), this generation is being lauded as their savior.

This goes for everything from physical media to thrift stores and physical books. The latest beneficiary is movie theaters, as Gen Z is more likely to cancel the top streaming platforms and go to movie theaters. However, this resurgence in the popularity of tangible media and real-world experiences comes at the expense of digital stalwarts, and the latest casualty may be Netflix.

A report from Dentsu and IGN breaks down media consumption habits by generation and, in the process, reveals that those habits are more strongly influenced by generational identity than chronological age. The report defines each generation by the way they discover and interact with games, film, and TV, dubbing Gen Z as the algorithm generation. They're a generation that's never known a world without unlimited content, so discovery is passive and tends to be feed-driven through sources like social media or YouTube. They're also 13% more likely to use AI for discovery and 55% more likely to believe AI summaries are as good as human-written ones, despite reporting that Gen Z despises AI in a number of other contexts.

Members of Gen Z are the most active moviegoing population in the United States, hitting theaters at a frequency 25% higher than the average population. Conversely, the study shows that they're 59% likely to subscribe to a streaming service for one show, binge it, then cancel the service. This contradicts the long-standing narrative we've been exposed to since the pandemic, that movie theaters are doomed because young people are abandoning them in favor of streamers.

For Gen Z, going to the movies is more about the social experience than actually seeing a new movie, with Gen Zers curating an entire evening around a trip to the theater. They also spend more on premium formats and concessions; Gen Z wants big screens, premium seats, and quality snacks, a complete moviegoing experience.

This may, at first, seem at odds with the perception of Gen Z as financially responsible, a generation of savers. The reality is that they perceive a night at the movies as affordable entertainment, and will take advantage of loyalty programs and coupon codes to make sure that's the case. Despite financial caution shaped by the pandemic and uncertainty, Gen Z is willing to spend for experiential diversions.

Product is a big part of it, too. There's a glut of content catering to Gen Z in theaters, including video game adaptations, horror films, and R-rated content, as well as fare that was previously restricted to home video or streaming, like anime. Gen Z continues to flock to theaters, and studios and creators continue to pump out content to keep them coming back for more.