More people are attending movies but are willing to pay more for theater, concerts and other performances, generating more revenue in ticket sales for the arts.
The study shows theaters and concerts from Broadway to small towns draw about 1.5 million attendees every day. At the same time, about 3.4 million are attending the movies each day, and sports events draw nearly 2.7 million people daily.
NEA Research Director Sunil Iyengar said the fact that performing arts ticket revenue is bigger than movie ticket sales will surprise many people.
The study also found museums draw more than 500,000 people any given day and nearly 900,000 on weekends based on time use surveys.
