Twisters swept into cinemas as the fourth-highest debut for the year, only slightly shy of Dune: Part Two’s opening results. But with it, Twisters brought some interesting audience trends.

From a crowd of large groups and a high rate of returning moviegoers to a surge of popularity for 4DX experiences, we are taking a close look at the audience that turned up for Twisters through pre-release, its debut weekend, and how it evolved into the first week.

So buckle in, and let’s dive into the storm.

Audience Frequency

Infrequent* audiences are often the most sought-after marker of massive blockbuster success. While we love loyal high-frequency moviegoers, those returning moviegoers who visit less regularly make a massive impact on the box office when they fill out the auditoriums; and Twisters delivered.

With an opening weekend attendance of 39.7% Infrequent moviegoers—12 percentage points above the benchmark for all movies—they made up the majority of the audience. This was a similar trend to the opening weekends of 2024’s previous biggest opening titles: Dune: Part Two and Inside Out 2, which saw 45% and 60% Infrequent moviegoers respectively.

Twisters’ numbers continued to climb through the first week, seeing an audience of 44.8% Infrequent moviegoers.

While this comes at the expense of Occasional and Frequent audiences, Twisters also achieved a higher than benchmark result for Very Frequent moviegoers in both pre-release and its opening weekend, showing the title’s cinematic appeal to be seen in the big screen tempted both the movie aficionados and those who attend less often.

Audience Demographics

Twisters saw a very interesting shift in its audience demographics between opening weekend and week 1. While both saw popularity across moviegoers from 25-54, and particularly moviegoers aged 35-44 at 23% for the opening weekend and 19% for week 1, the week saw a rise in older moviegoers.

While pre-release and opening weekend audiences aged 65+ were nearly identical at 6% and 8% respectively, the week saw that number rise to 14%, with moviegoers aged 55+ reaching 27% of the total audience.

This came at the exchange of very young moviegoers, as those aged 2-11 lowered from 8.6% to 4.7%. This, combined with the size of 5+ ticket purchases suggests that the opening weekend saw a large attendance from families in particular.

The gender split as well has seen Twisters open almost perfectly on-benchmark at 46% Female and 54% Male, and saw Female moviegoers rise to 51% through week 1.

Screen Formats

One of the most widely-noted successes for Twisters was its popularity in PLF (Premium Large Format) screenings—particularly in the exhilarating 4DX. While the thought of witnessing natural disasters in the most immersive, chair-shaking format possible might alarm some, it clearly proved immensely popular.

From its pre-release sales, Twisters saw nearly half of all tickets opt for PLF screenings at 46%, more than any other format and more than triple the benchmark of 14%. On top of this, a further 10% purchased tickets for IMAX.

While other blockbusters such as Dune: Part Two and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, saw higher numbers for IMAX tickets, Twisters’ shift towards other PLF options like 4DX could bode well for its further weeks on the big screen, considering that Twisters will likely be grappling with Deadpool & Wolverine for IMAX opportunities into its second week.

While IMAX tapered off after the opening weekend, PLF screenings have seen a strong hold of popularity for Twisters and stayed well above benchmark through its first week.

Keeping Twisters spinning

Alongside PLF success, Twisters saw a high proportion of large group bookings in pre-release and through its opening weekend, with groups of 3 or more comprising more than 35% of the audience.

Marketing opportunities for cinemas to keep Twisters bringing in audiences could include promoting the group experience of seeing such a dramatic movie with friends, or highlight the excitement around 4DX and large-screen experiences.

As Deadpool & Wolverine breaks records, the box office is looking for a healthy boost.

But as 2024 has shown so far, keeping a range of titles to appeal to audiences is what makes the box office stay healthy. With Twisters bringing in older moviegoers, and a higher proportion of female moviegoers at 51% compared to Deadpool & Wolverine’s 30%, movie marketers should make the most of a well-rounded film slate to keep all their audiences entertained.

To learn more about what Movio Research can do for you, or to uncover additional insights, please contact us.

*Frequency is based on a moviegoers' six-month session count:

< 2 = Infrequent
2-5 = Occasional
6-25 = Frequent
26+ = Very Frequent