The Wonder

In a dark year for entertainment, there’s been one clear shining star: the power of shared experiences.

I’ve always been passionate about the power of storytelling to connect people, one of the most important core aspects that has been prevalent since the dawn of humanity. Nothing creates better memories and builds a sense of connection than a shared, moving experience.

I’ll never forget the emotions and sounds flowing from hundreds of my new friends as T’Challa walked out of the portal in Avengers Endgame. I get chills every time I see people experience a new attraction or meet a beloved character at a theme park. And I’ll always remember the look on the faces of the citizens of Milwaukee as we wound down our first championship in 50 years. As social beings, we cherish the moments where we experience moving stories with other people, and we grow closer together.

The Problem

The social media era has been depleted the amount of shared events we experience. Everyone’s entertainment is more personalized, and we spend more time isolated than ever before. Time spent alone increased from 285m in 2003 to 333m in 2020, and that trends looks to continue the more tech and entertainment companies focus on sending everything we need to our pockets. Alone time has severe detrimental effects on our minds and bodies, including shorter lifespans, mental health issues, and of course a lack of connections.

Shared experiences can help combat these mental health issues. The NAMI has found that social support helps with mental illness. Writer Brene Brown once said, “Connection is why we’re here; it is what gives purpose and meaning to our lives. The power that connection holds in our lives was confirmed when the main concern about connection emerged as the fear of disconnection; the fear that something we have done or failed to do, something about who we are or where we come from, has made us unlovable and unworthy of connection. Sharing our experiences, stories, and vulnerabilities helps us to cultivate connection, compassion, and empathy.” Shared stories have been found to build community and connection.

Shared experiences are crucial for our survival as a species. Fortunately, this year was a bright light for the future of shared stories and entertainment.

The Year in Shared Experiences

This year saw great numbers for shared entertainment experiences in theme parks, concerts, and despite the overall theater numbers, event movies.

Theme parks are works of art where many people visit and experience stories told through all five senses with a ton of other people. It is a complete art form dependent on a communal yet individual experience, and this medium is thriving. In 2022, theme park attendance returned to pre-pandemic numbers.

Those numbers, though not finalized for 2023, seem on track to be even higher. Universal recorded record revenue last quarter. Walt Disney World’s crowd in the holiday season topped any post-pandemic numbers they’ve seen. And Disney announced this year they’re boosting investment in the parks over the next 10 years by an estimated 25% over the past 10 years. Post-pandemic, people are realizing their need for these types of event experiences.

Another area in which people are enjoying art together is in the concert space. Even outside of Taylor Swift’s record tour and Beyonce’s monumental tour, concerts have seen a healthy level of enjoyment. LiveNation saw around a 20% boost in 2022 attendance and overall live music ticket sales project to top $25B by end of 2023, nearly a 20% boost over 2018. People are choosing more and more to hear music together and share in the communal experience.

Individual movie attendance has been declining over time, as more and more films are available to stream at home. However, event movies saw significant attendance in 2023. Barbie and Oppenheimer saw massive attendance, catapulted by the desire to share in the experience of seeing this movie with friends and social media connections. The Taylor Swift Eras tour movie crushed projections, with instances of viewers dancing and singing in the theater.

Although people feel less of an incentive to see movies in theaters with the abundance available at a pre-paid cost at home, the desire for a memorable consumption with other, similarly interested people still draws people out to theaters when applicable. I’d also love to see a study holding constant projections or critic scores that tests the effect of theater crowds on consumer sentiment; I’d guess the more people to experience the story, the more they would report enjoying the movie. I know personally I can’t enjoy Spider-Man: No Way Home the same without the standing ovations for Andrew Garfield and Tobey Macguire, the memories of which still send chills down my spine.

Shared art experiences saw a resurgence after the struggles of the pandemic, and the industry recognizing this and focusing on this aspect excites me for the future of entertainment. Stories bring people together, and I look forward to the new ways for storytellers to capitalize on this to create lasting memories.

The Future

In addition to investment in the existing forms of art and creating communities through digital means, I look forward to new ideas for creating communal experiences through art.

One way that seems like a no-brainer is more experience-based merchandise. Theme parks and sporting events have event-specific merchandise that people buy to further their experience and grow attachment to the people who were there.

Merchandise for concert tours, such as in Swift’s Eras and Beyonce’s Renaissance tours, saw an incredible draw to their merchandise for this same reason: concertgoers wanted to show others they were there, and they are likely to build connections with the others who have the same limited-edition gear. I see no reason studios can’t replicate this for movies; Broadway shows have been doing this for a long time. Imagine walking out of Avengers Endgame for the first time and seeing T-Shirts with the portals on them or Iron Gauntlets. This could draw people to show up.

I’d also be interested in the potential for innovative movie showings that meet people in their communal spaces. For example, I saw La La Land projected at the LA State Park with an orchestra conducted by Justin Hurwitz. This was an experience I, and many other citizens, were extremely compelled to attend. Movie theaters are engineered to be optimal spaces to screen movies, but there are other meaningful locations where people would be willing to show up and watch a movie with their community.

I’d also be interested in the potential for choose-your-own-adventure stories, where a group of people could determine certain outcomes of the story and see an art personalized for them. They’d all have a say in the final product, and they’d feel more attachment to it, as people do when involved in the creative process of anything. Involving members of the crowd with the art could also make certain music shows more desirable as well.

There are many ways in which artists and producers can tap into the desire for community and shared experiences to increase consumption of art, and I’m very excited for the potential of this. As technological innovation increases the incentive to be isolated, entertainment will see a growing opportunity to cultivate shared experiences and build community through their stories. This is going to be a crucial movement for the future of entertainment, and I’m excited to go along with the ride and potentially contribute.

I’d love for anyone reading to think about the stories that have the largest impact on you, and think about who you shared the experience of taking in this story with. How has this memory strengthened your bond? How would your favorite memories change if you were alone vs with others? I hope more people continue to want to take in stories together, and let’s bring entertainment back to being a communal experience!

Additional Note

From Lucas Shaw’s 2024 predictions:

“The fastest-growing segment of the entertainment business will be places you can go to. “Experiences” was Disney’s fastest-growing division, posting a 16% jump in sales last year thanks largely to theme parks. Sports was down 1%. Entertainment was up 3%. Sales at Live Nation Entertainment, the world’s largest live music company, increased 36% through nine months of 2023. Good luck finding another large media company growing 36%. Mighty Facebook (aka Meta Platforms Inc.) grew just 12% over the same period. And yet, this still counts as something of a surprise. Shouldn’t live music have a down year after the summer of Taylor Swift and Beyonce? Nope. Swift will still be on tour and no artist makes up more than a percent or two of Live nation’s sales. People are cutting back on all kinds of spending. But live experiences aren’t one of them.“