Latinos are Hurt Disproportionately By Movie Theater Closures

While we are all hurting during the COVID-19 crisis in the moviegoing industry, perhaps no bigger population has been affected during the pandemic than Latinos.

According to the MPAA, In the United States Latinos make up 18% of the population and 25% of the movie attendance. They are the largest group to oversample in moviegoing relative to size.

Culturally, Latinos are very connected to their families, in many cases living in multigenerational homes. Even though 40% of Latinos are born in the United States, 70% of Latinos speak Spanish in the home as a way of connecting with older generations living in their households as well as connecting with their culture.

With the average cost of a movie ticket still under $10, going to a movie is one of the cheapest forms of event entertainment that we have available in the United States. When you compare this to the cost of an NBA ticket, an NFL ticket, or a music concert, to take a family of 4 to any of those events could cost anywhere between $200-800, and that’s just for a decent seat. The most expensive movie theater seats usually top out around $30, making the moviegoing experience, even a premium one, more affordable.

COVID-19 has been the perfect storm both medically and economically. The CDC reports that Latinos have seen higher infection rates relative to other groups. Combine this with a federal unemployment rate that is in excess of 10% and you can get the picture as to how Latinos are being hurt in this scenario.

In the United States alone there have been over 5.4 million diagnosed cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus and over 170,000 confirmed deaths.