European Cinema Sales To Hit €4.7bn By 2006, Says Dodona Research

The report, which covers 21 European countries, shows that almost 20,000 of the continent’s 28,629 screens and 76% of its admissions are in the five major markets of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. However, it is the central European countries of Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic, along with Romania and Greece, which are expected to show the highest rate box office growth.

Multiplexes not key to popularity revival Cinemagoing Europe argues that the role of the multiplex has not been as central to the revival of the European cinema industry as is widely believed.

“Although new cinemas have certainly aided the industry’s recovery, other factors such as rising living standards and increased leisure spending underpin the steady growth in the market. Also contrary to popular belief, multiplexes have not caused further Americanisation of European cinema. In fact, 2001 was an especially successful year for domestic film industries,” says the report.

In Denmark and Poland, domestic films accounted for more than 30% of the market while France, Spain, Sweden and the Czech Republic had domestic film market shares of more than 20%.

The research also finds that cinema audiences across Europe vary significantly in age, attitudes to preferred types of film and in cinema location. Dodona warns that investors and operators ignore the heterogeneity of this market at their peril.

Digital cinema Europe has been much more proactive in its adoption and trialling of digital cinema than the United States, says the report. In Norway, for example, 69 cinemas have had digital projectors installed, which are suitable for advertising and alternative content.

Such innovations, linked with reviving European film industries, are set to drive the number of cinema visits made annually by Europeans from 2.16 per person in 2001 to 2.52 per person by 2006.