According to provisional figures from the International Union of Cinemas, released on Wednesday, cinema attendance rebounded in 2022 by around a third in Europe, without reaching the pre-pandemic level. The Spanish and Italian halls are still struggling. French creation is generally doing well in the recovery game.
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Attendance at European cinemas has rebounded by around a third over one year in 2022, but remains well below pre-pandemic levels, according to provisional figures published on Wednesday February 15 by the professional organization Unic.
Promising recovery, except in Spain and Italy
“Compared to the record year 2019, estimated admissions in 2022 in Europe were down 40.3% and box office revenues down 34.4%”, noted the International Union of Cinemas in a press release. In question: the restrictions linked to the Covid which lasted until June 2022 in certain countries, the low number of film releases and the impact of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Compared to the nightmarish year 2021, however, admissions are up by at least 36.5% and box office revenues are up by 55.6%.
The rebound over the year was particularly strong in countries such as Austria, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Slovenia, and large markets such as France, Germany and the United Kingdom “continue to narrow the gap from pre-pandemic levels”. Conversely, recovery is “slower” in Spain or Italy.
Winning French creation
If the rebound was driven by American blockbusters like Avatar: The Way of the Water Or Top Gun: Maverickthe national cinema played “a key role in the success of 2022”, according to the Unic. This is particularly the case in France, with a French cinema which claims 40% of the market and to a lesser extent in the Czech Republic (33%), Denmark (26%) and Finland (25%).
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