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Global Cinema Admissions To Fall 3.8% In 2003

Global Cinema Admissions To Fall 3.8% In 2003

Global cinema admissions will fall by 3.8% in 2003 to 8.46 billion, according to a new report from Informa Media Group. This follows a strong year in 2002, after declines in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

At the same time, overall global box office receipts will fall by 2.6% to $20.1 billion in 2003. This is the first fall in box office receipts for more than a decade, says Informa.

Simon Murray, publisher at Informa Media Group, said: “A stronger slate of film releases in the second half of the year is not expected to be enough to swing the whole year round to higher figures than 2002. Going forward, industry growth is likely to be muted as the multiplex building boom is over in many countries. In fact, several countries appear to be over-overextended the net screen count will fall in these territories.”

The UK is forecast to see a 4% decline in admissions and box office revenues this year, whilst the US will fall by around 5%. Looking ahead, global admissions are not expected to exceed 2002’s figures before 2010.

However, the 2002 box office figure will be topped in 2005 as higher ticket prices in multiplexes have a greater effect, says the report.

Cinema Admissions By Continent (million) 
         
  1995  2002  2003  2010 
Asia Pacific 6,352 5,317 5,156 5,129
Europe 826 1,167 1,104 1,227
Latin America 163 385 370 429
Middle East/Africa 185 155 150 149
North America 1,364 1,770 1,682 1,803
Total 8,889 8,793 8,461 8,737
Source: Informa Media Group, September 2003 

Gross Box Office by Continent ($m) 
         
  1995  2002  2003  2010 
Asia Pacific 2,841 3,502 3,470 4,061
Europe 3,266 5,654 5,423 6,206
Latin America 308 1,087 1,065 1,416
Middle East/Africa 83 102 101 118
North America 5,934 10,282 10,025 11,126
Total 12,432 20,626 20,084 22,927
Source: Informa Media Group, September 2003 

Despite the low admissions growth, global box office figures are expected to rise 14% between 2003 and 2010 to $23 billion – or nearly double the 1995 total. Much of this increase is due to multiplexes charging more for tickets than traditional cinemas.

Whilst Asia Pacific dominates the admissions figures, its low ticket prices result in a weak influence on gross box office revenues. The US will take 46% of global box office revenue in 2003 and this share will fall only slightly to 45% by 2010.

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