What They Say
Preliminary data from the European Audiovisual Observatory estimates that the cinema attendance in the European Union and the UK increased to 383.2 million tickets sold in 2021. This is 83.8 million admissions more than in 2020, representing a year-on-year growth of 28%. The rebound was less pronounced in the European Union only (EU27), where ticket sales increased by 21% to 309.2 million admissions, 53.8 million visits more than in the previous year.
That’s still well down on pre-pandemic levels. Admissions for 2021 are still 61.9% below the figures registered in 2019, when cinema attendance in the EU and UK topped 1 billion admissions, representing a total loss of 623.5 million tickets. A similar decline on 2019 (-62.8%) was observed for the European Union only (EU27).
The release includes data on country levels and also looked at the percentage of locally-produced content. However, it pointed out that much of the recovery was driven by US blockbusters.
What We Think
Woah, it’s a long way back for the cinema business. Meanwhile, the quality of home entertainment keeps improving. The displays are getting spectacular and there is great content via streaming. The cinema/group experience is different from watching at home, but the scale of the shock drop in viewing has been huge. (BR)
Cinema attendance in the European Union and the UK, 2012-2021 In millions; estimated; calculated on a pro-forma basis for the 27 EU member states and the UK
