With CineEurope taking place in Barcelona last week, I’ve been reflecting on the important role cinema continues to play within the media and entertainment landscape, and particularly in relation to family audiences. 

The current summer release schedule is also a good indicator as always, where major titles are designed to attract broad, cross-generational audiences. In 2026, we’re getting Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Toy Story 5, The Odyssey, and Moana 3 (amongst others). Are you excited? I definitely am – seeing Nolan’s The Odyssey unfold in IMAX, the way it was meant to be seen, will be the cinematic highlight of my year!
 

A distinctive role within the media landscape, especially for families 

Cinema occupies a differentiated position compared to other forms of entertainment: it is a shared out-of-home experience that appeals across generations, offers a fully immersive experience and is often a carefully planned occasion. 

These characteristics are particularly relevant in the context of family life, where time together is increasingly limited and often fragmented. At the same time, broader changes in family life are shaping how entertainment is consumed. 

Our ongoing Families @ Home research points to increasingly busy and structured daily routines, a high reliance on digital and on-demand content, and a growing emphasis from parents on creating meaningful shared experiences. 

This creates a clear trade-off between convenience and quality of engagement. While in-home entertainment offers flexibility, it often lacks the distinction and focus that families associate with more meaningful activities. 

Cinema, by contrast, continues to fulfil this role effectively. 

Cinema’s role for families 

Our work with Digital Cinema Media (DCM), exploring cinema through the lens of family behaviour, highlights the channel’s continued relevance.*

Key findings indicate that: 

• A majority of parents consider cinema one of the most effective ways to spend quality time together as a family, outperforming many at-home alternatives 

• Cinema is significantly more likely to be regarded as a ‘special occasion’ 

• Attention levels are materially higher in the cinema environment, with fewer distractions compared to at-home viewing 

• Children often initiate cinema visits, but the experience delivers shared value across the whole family 

Overall, cinema doesn’t always compete on convenience or price, although since COVID a number of special offers have made it much more accessible to families. It does however, provide a high-value experience defined by intentionality, immersion, and shared engagement. 

Cinema experiences also extend beyond the point of viewing: more likely to be discussed and remembered afterwards, and provide shared cultural reference points (across both families and wider audiences). 

What does this mean for brands? 

From a media and communications perspective, cinema offers a number of clear advantages:

High-attention environment

Cinema remains one of the few channels where: 

• Advertising is viewed in full, and sometimes even anticipated! 
• Audience distraction is minimal – no second screening
  

Positive and receptive mindset

Cinema attendance is typically associated with: 

• Anticipation and enjoyment 

• Treat-based behaviour 

• A more positive emotional state 

This context increases the likelihood of messaging being received and retained.

Access to both parents and children

Cinema represents a rare environment where: 

• Family decision-making is active 

• Both parents and children are present and engaged simultaneously 

This creates an opportunity to influence multiple stakeholders within a single moment.

Stronger recall and association

Given the immersive nature of the experience, cinema is more likely to contribute to: 

• Higher levels of brand recall 

• Stronger emotional association 

• Greater long-term memorability 

• High levels of talkability 

Conclusion 

Cinema continues to provide a compelling platform for shared experiences while ongoing changes in family life reinforce the importance of moments that are intentional, immersive, and collective. 

Of course, cinema is an expensive activity, particularly for families – we know from both the DCM study and our own study, Families @ Home that price is the main barrier to cinema. But this is why initiatives such as National Cinema Day can play a key role in driving new and lapsed audiences to the big screen. 

Despite this, cinema is well positioned to meet families’ key needs, offering a high-value environment for both audiences and brands. In an increasingly fragmented media environment, these shared moments have growing cultural and commercial significance. 

With a summer like this ahead, I know exactly where I’ll be – because some stories are best experienced together, on the big screen. See you on July 17th for The Odyssey!

Léa Trichet – Director – RED C UK

Understanding audience behaviour is what we do 

The Media team at RED C specialises in the audience insight that distributors, broadcasters, streaming platforms and media owners need to make confident strategic decisions. We work across the full media landscape, from cinema to streaming, digital and beyond, helping our clients understand not just what audiences are watching, but why they are watching it, what keeps them loyal, and what changes habits. 

Our clients face versions of the same fundamental challenge: how do you build genuine, evidence-based understanding of how audiences discover, consume and value content, and what it would take to attract more of the right people, more often, for longer. That is the question we are built to answer. 

If you are responsible for growing an audience and you want to make sure your decisions are driven by insight rather than assumption, we would love to hear from you. 

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*DCM report – Cinema: A  Family Favourite