How Do Airlines Pick Their In-Flight Movies?

There are only so many ways to pass the time when you're trapped in a metal tube 30,000 feet above ground. You can crack open a book, binge your favorite true crime podcast, try to get some work done, or attempt small talk with your seatmate (who may or may not be interested). There's also the option to raw dog the flight — just you and the hum of the engines — or attempt to sleep. But on long-haul trips, even the best sleepers can't snooze the whole way. So, what's left for a bored passenger? Rely on in-flight entertainment — and airlines make an effort to make sure you're not stuck watching the same rom-com from 2004 on a loop.

Big players like Southwest, Delta, and United have dedicated teams carefully curating the in-flight experience, with some even hitting up film festivals to scout potential hits. Others outsource the whole thing, hiring studios to slap together a decent collection no one will openly complain about. But rest assured, it's all backed by data. Airlines track what passengers watch (so yes, they know how many of you shamelessly rewatch "The Devil Wears Prada") and adjust accordingly. American Airlines adds about 200 new titles every month, while Delta swaps out 20% to 25% of its selection every 30 days to keep things fresh.

In-flight movie selections have become impressively varied — just don't expect horror or anything involving plane-related disasters, obviously. "Someone being afraid or even jumping or screaming out loud in a quiet aircraft is not a great experience for the cabin or passenger," Estibaliz Asiain, senior vice president of media and content at Anuvu, which helps airlines curate entertainment, shared with The Washington Post. "We also avoid scenes that could be disturbing or cause claustrophobia, e.g. plane crash scenes."

Not all airlines are created equal when it comes to in-flight movies. In 2024, Skytrax crowned Emirates with the World's Best Inflight Entertainment Award, followed by Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways. Closer to home, Delta snagged fifth place, outranking even Singapore Airlines. Surprisingly, United, American Airlines, and JetBlue also cracked the top 20. Who knew?

According to Mark Horton, head of worldwide sales at indie film distributor Cinesky, some airlines really do go above and beyond to keep passengers entertained. "Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific are definitely leaders, putting a great deal of focus on the quality of the inflight entertainment content and the actual system onboard," he told The Sydney Morning Herald. "All of these airlines are putting their money behind the various passenger touch points — comfortable seats, best quality meals, an expansive inflight entertainment package and top quality screens in the seats." Essentially, they cough up big bucks to make sure you stay glued to something other than the flight map.

Regardless of who you fly with, in-flight movies offer a rare chance to watch something you'd probably never pay to see otherwise. Case in point: "Barbie." According to The New York Times, Delta found that a surprising chunk of its "Barbie" audience was men."There's no laws. Watching a movie in-flight, you're already in a tube," Kennedy Wilson, an in-flight entertainment and connectivity consultant at Southwest, explained to the outlet. "You're already going to be in there for a certain amount of time. So they see a movie that they wouldn't buy a ticket for." And so the next time you catch yourself watching an action or animated flick you'd avoid on land, just remember — what happens in the air stays in the air.