UK cinemas in 2018 saw the highest attendance levels for almost 50 years, figures published today confirm.
Cinema admissions for the year were 177,001,481, 3.7 per cent up on 2017 – itself a strong year for the sector – and the highest level of UK cinema-going since 1970. At the same time, box office was £1,277,122,327, on a level with the figure for the previous year. Taken together, these figures confirm a slight drop in average UK ticket price to £7.22.
Across the year, ten movies made more than £30 million at the UK box office (compared to six the previous year), underlining the extent to which a diverse slate drove a wider audience back to the big screen. At the same time, 2018 saw massive investment in the cinema infrastructure, with over a dozen new cinemas opening during the year and many other sites enjoying significant refurbishment and investment in new technology.
Welcoming, today’s figures, UK Cinema Association Chief Executive (UKCA) Phil Clapp said:
‘These fantastic figures for 2018 confirm that the UK cinema sector remains in extraordinary health. The UK public has responded with overwhelming enthusiasm both to the breadth of the film slate and the quality and range of different cinema offers delivered by UKCA members across the country.
Whatever the competing out of home leisure opportunities, UK cinemas have shown that the big screen experience continues to be an irresistible draw for many.
We look forward to 2019 with a great deal of confidence, knowing that that investment will continue, complemented by a large number of exceptional movies across the year.’
Note: box office figures courtesy of Comscore; admissions figures courtesy of the Cinema Advertising Association.