Disabled Moviegoers Would See More Films With Better Theater Accessibility, Inevitable Foundation Study Finds

By Abigail Lee

Illustrated by: Meeya Tjiang

The nonprofit Inevitable Foundation has created a new report called “The Adaptive Cinema Opportunity” based on a survey of disabled movie-goers and their experiences with accessibility in theaters.

The report’s release is timed to CinemaCon. It was intended to assess how accessible theaters are and to examine “how the global disability audience could provide a growth opportunity for movie theaters,” the report states.

Inevitable Foundation states in the report that the results reveal “how increased accessibility can lead to higher ticket sales.”

The report was built from surveying 107 self-identified disabled moviegoers who have gone to a theater over the past year.

Some of the report’s findings include that 65% of disabled viewers prefer the theatergoing experience over seeing a film at home. Additionally, only 4% responded that they experienced having “ideal accessibility needs met at movie theaters in the last two years,” according to the report. 82% of disabled audience members responded that they would frequent theaters more if those accessibility needs were accommodated.

Disabled audience members are twice “as interested in seeing a movie in a theater as the general U.S. population if it’s accessible to them,” according to the report.

The report states that some of the reasons that disabled audience members decide not to go to a movie theater include COVID-19, seating accessibility and cost.

The survey respondents named accessible parking, lobby seating and an online option for buying tickets as some of the elements they want in their theatergoing experience.

“Implementing simple yet meaningful improvements—such as better seating options, air filtration, clearer signage, and comprehensive accessibility information—can transform theaters into spaces where all audiences can fully engage and enjoy themselves,” the report states.