The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC), which represents the European exhibition industry, has called on policy makers to “implement strong recovery strategies” as the 2020 box office fell 70.6% compared to the year before throughout the region.
European cinemas generated 6.2 billion euros less in revenue than in 2019; those of the European Union register a 69% reduction at the box office and a drop in revenue of 4 billion euros.
Losses are primarily caused by government-imposed closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, the additional impact on revenue from lost concession sales, advertising, and canceled events.
“The crisis is far from over,” UNIC said in a statement. And added: “We urge policy makers at the national and European level to implement robust recovery strategies to ensure that European cinemas, of all sizes and locations, can survive this challenging period. And may they once again be the vibrant home of culture, freedom and community, as they always have been ”.
The United Kingdom (still in the EU in 2020) was one of the most affected European territories, suffering a 76% reduction at the box office, compared to Portugal (75%), Spain (73%), Italy (71%), Germany (70%) and France (69%, according to admissions). All European territories were negatively affected by the recession. Those who have suffered a little less are Denmark (47%), the Netherlands (56%), Russia (59%) and Lithuania (62%)
In 2019, European cinemas raised more than 8,800 millions of euros, generating more than 1,340 millions of tickets. Cinemas in the European Union passed the 1 billion admissions mark for the first time since 2004. While overall box office was down significantly, local titles fared proportionately better year-over-year, with market share across the entire region. . Turkey was far ahead with an 80% share of self-produced films, followed by Italy with 57%, Poland with 50% and Denmark with 49%.
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