Gender distribution of cinema goers by age group in Australia 2019

In Australia in 2019, cinema-goers were predominantly over the age of 50; 35 percent were male and 31 percent were female. Amongst younger age groups, just 13 percent were males aged 18 to 24, and 15 percent were female patrons from the same age group.

The wider picture and competitive ticket prices

Considering the age groups of cinema visitors as a whole, 33 percent were aged over 50, and 14 percent were in the 18 to 24 age group. Historically, these numbers have barely changed year on year; this can perhaps be attributed, at least in part, to relatively steady levels of ticket pricing. Average cinema ticket prices have remained steady over the last few years, reaching 14.23 Australian dollars in 2020. The average price has risen by just four Australian dollars since 2007. It’s a similar story with maximum prices; in 2019, the maximum ticket price was 22 Australian dollars. Notably, this is 6.50 Australian dollars less than the most recent price peak, which reached 28.50 Australian dollars in 2011.

The cinemas themselves

This relatively stable pricing could be related to the predominance of independent cinemas in Australia. A total of 686 are privately owned, compared to 519 and 370 which are owned by the largest companies, Event Cinemas and Hoyts respectively. These numbers equate to a market share of 23 percent for Event Cinemas, and 17 percent for Hoyts, whereas 31 percent are independently owned.