With cinema box office revenues still some way behind their pre-pandemic levels, any help to stimulate the recovery in cinema is welcome. Omdia believes YouTube could be one of the sources of that help.
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Summary
With cinema box office revenue still some way behind its pre-pandemic levels, any help to stimulate recovery is welcome. Omdia believes YouTube could be one of the sources of that help.
Cinema’s recovery from the pandemic has been a slow one
Cinema box office worldwide is projected to generate $34bn in revenue in 2025, still comfortably below the $42bn recorded in 2019. There are several ways to bring audiences back to the cinema, one of which could be with the assistance of YouTubers.
One of the critical challenges facing the industry is audience behavior, with only 44% of YouTube users in the US attending cinemas. This figure remains consistent in Spain and rises slightly to 45% in the UK. This raises some important questions: How can YouTubers help boost cinema attendance? Can content creators expand their influence and drive box office growth?
Figure 1: Global box office revenue, 2019–25 ($bn)
Source: Omdia
Omdia is aware of some successful cases where YouTubers have directly influenced cinema trends. For example, the documentary Kaizen by French YouTuber Inoxtag premiered for free on YouTube, yet managed to sell out 400 cinemas across France the following day. Similarly, Spanish YouTuber Alec Hernandez has drawn massive crowds to cinemas in Madrid with his content, demonstrating the power of digital creators in driving audiences to the big screen.
What is becoming increasingly clear is that collaboration with YouTube is a must going forward; collaboration and partnerships are key to attracting YouTube's audience worldwide. And this applies not just to cinema but also to attracting audiences to broadcasters or even SVOD services like Netflix, which has already been executing marketing campaigns globally using YouTubers to promote shows like Squid Game.
YouTube metrics at the end of 2024:
- UK: 45 million monthly active users (MAUs)
- US: 221 million MAUs
- Spain: 32 million MAUs
Omdia’s hypothesis is that embracing YouTube influencers as part of cinema marketing strategies could play an essential role in revitalizing the industry and bridging the gap between digital consumption and theatrical experiences.
Other examples include the Minecraft movie, which will hit theater screens on April 5, 2025, marking the latest Hollywood adaptation of a globally beloved video game. Fans have been eagerly awaiting this film for years, and it promises to deliver an exciting tribute to the gaming phenomenon.
Notably, the film is expected to honor iconic YouTuber Technoblade, a well-loved figure in the Minecraft community. In addition, it will feature appearances from several well-known Minecraft YouTubers, further bridging the connection between digital content creators and theatrical releases.
Figure 2: YouTube user overlaps with other services and sectors by market (all users), November 2024
Source: Source
With digital influencers playing an increasingly vital role in audience engagement, the Minecraft movie could serve as a case study for the evolving relationship between YouTube content creators and the box office.
Appendix
Author
Maria Rua Aguete, Head of Media and Entertainment
