Movie-theater chains ranked best to worst by audiences

Sarah
Jacobs

• A new Market Force Information survey found which
  theater chains are the most popular among nearly 13,000
  participants.
• The survey asked participants to rank each brand based
  on a Composite Loyalty Index, and then ranked each chain based
  on its average score.
• Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas took the top spot, and swept
  the concessions categories for its convenience and
  variety.

 

2018 has been a big year for films at the box office. This
summer alone raked in nearly $5 billion (thanks to an early start
with “Avengers: Infinity War”) — the second-biggest haul for a
summer ever. That’s a significant improvement from last summer,
which was the worst at the box office in over a decade.

That means people still enjoy going to the theater to see films
on the big screen. And they enjoy some theater chains more than
others.

A new survey from customer
experience management company Market Force Information found
which North American movie-theater chains were audiences’
favorites. Nearly 13,000 people participated in the survey, which
asked participants to rank each brand based on a
Composite Loyalty Index, which factored in convenience of
location, seating, show time selection, available films, types
and price of concessions, box-office service, and more.

Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas, with its unique in-theater food
and drink service, took the top spot in the survey with a score
of 72%. It ranked highest among moviegoers in categories like
previous good experience, value for money spent, staff courtesy
and helpfulness, and variety of concessions. It swept the
concessions and box-office rankings.

Harkins Theatres came in a close second with an overall
score of 68%, with participants ranking it the best in convenient
locations and second in ticket-collector courtesy (Alamo ranked
first) and showtime selection (Studio Movie Grill ranked first
with a 41% score). Marcus Theatres landed at third with an
overall score of 64%.

Landmark Theatres ranked first among participants in
movie-title selection with a 43% score.

AMC didn’t fare as well as other chains despite its efforts
to compete with MoviePass this summer with its own
theater-subscription program. It ranked ninth among the 11
theaters included in the survey with a score of 53%.

Brand loyalty will be especially important to chains that want to
roll out their own movie-theater subscription programs to compete
with MoviePass.

AMC Theatres introduced its own this summer and attracted
260,000 subscribers in its
first two months, and Alamo is testing a beta that had a waitlist of over 40,000 after
only a month.

Below is a chart of each chain included in the survey, and
where they ranked:

Favorite Movie-Theater Chains (Overall Results)

Market Force
Information