The highest level of February attendances on record saw cinema admissions for 2011 race ahead of the same point in 2010.
February saw 17,246,379 admissions to UK cinemas, not just the highest figure for that month in recent times, but a boost which put overall attendance ten per cent ahead of the same point in 2010. This is particularly impressive in that the beginning of last year was marked by the all-conquernig reign of Avatar on the big screen.
The figures were in no small part thanks to the extraordinary success of The King’s Speech which at this point is still riding the wave of its success at the BAFTAs and Oscars, having realised over £43 million at the box office.
With an extraordinary slate of films in prospect for the run-up to Summer 2011 – including Sucker Punch; Rio; Red Riding Hood; Thor; Pirates Of The Caribbean:On Stranger Tides; The Hangover 2; X – Men: First Class; Prometheus; Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom; and The Green Lantern – the cinema sector is looking to the rest of the year with confidence.