While UK box office has increased by 67% since 2003 from £742m to £1.24 billion in 2015 cinema ticket prices per trade figures have increased from £4.40 to £7.21. Over that period while box office for the mega-movies has increased the divide has grown between the films that are being released.
A few weeks ago, was announced 900 films would be released in 2016 which sounds impressive but translates as 17 films being released each week; but when the top 10 films (1% of 2016’s films) will take 40% of the year’s box office and the top 100 (11% of 2016’s films) taking 70% (£850m+) of the year’s box office it leaves 30% (£350m+).
When you look deeper into the box office numbers and translate them into admissions while box office is more than the films that came before due to the ticket price increases the admissions for most are lower and this is using official figures. But if you were to calculate admissions using real ticket prices for films now Star Wars: A New Hope, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Jurassic Park admissions all are far more than the recent films that have beaten them at the box office.
While some countries calculate their box office by admissions have been rumours for a long time Rentrak/ComScore wanted to bring in admissions to the UK reports but has yet to happen as this is the only way historical film performance can be compared to more recent releases but of course this dependent on the average price used to calculate.
Industry claimed average ticket prices Harry Potter/Fantastic Beasts
| UK OP | Admissions | Av P | Total BO | Total Admins | ||
| HP and the Philosopher’s Stone | 16 Nov 2001 | £16.33 | 3,944,445 | £4.14 | £66.1m | 15,966,183 |
| HP and the Chamber of Secrets | 15 Nov 2002 | £18.71 | 4,361,305 | £4.29 | £54.8m | 12,773,893 |
| HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban | 31 May 2004 | £23.88 | 5,318,485 | £4.49 | £46.1m | 10,267,261 |
| HP and the Goblet of Fire | 18 Nov 2005 | £14.93 | 3,169,852 | £4.71 | £48.7m | 10,339,703 |
| HP and the Order of the Phoenix | 12 July 2007 | £16.49 | 3,265,347 | £5.05 | £58m | 11,485,148 |
| HP and the Half-Blood Prince | 15 July 2009 | £19.78 | 3,636,030 | £5.44 | £50.7m | 9,319,853 |
| HP and the Deathly Hallows P1 | 19 Nov 2010 | £18.31 | 3,077,311 | £5.95 | £52.2m | 8,773,109 |
| HP and the Deathly Hallows P2 | 15 July 2011 | £23.75 | 3,919,142 | £6.06 | £73.1m | 12,062,707 |
| Fantastic Beasts and. | 18 Nov 2016 | £15.33 | 2,044,000 | £7.50 | £30.13 | 4,0173,334 |
Real ticket price averages cinemagoers paid to see Fantastic Beasts
| Fantastic Beasts and.. | 15 July 2011 | £15.33 | 1,613,685 | £9.50 | £30.13m | 3,171,790 |
| Fantastic Beasts and. | 18 Nov 2016 | £15.33 | 1,277,500 | £12.00 | £30.13m | 2,510,833 |
Industry claimed average ticket prices Star Wars franchise
| SW: A New Hope | 29 Jan 1978 | n/a | n/a | £0.93 | £22.32m | 20,760,000 |
| SW: The Empire Strikes Back | 21 May 1980 | n/a | n/a | £1.41 | n/a | n/a |
| SW: Return of the Jedi | 2 June 1983 | n/a | n/a | £1.89 | n/a | n/a |
| Star Wars: Phantom Menace | 15 July 1999 | £9.51 | 2,259,384 | £4.21 | £50.7m | 12,042,755 |
| SW: Attack of the Clones | 16 May 2002 | £11.38 | 2,652,681 | £4.29 | £37.23m | 8,678,322 |
| SW: Revenge of the Sith | 19 May 2005 | £14.36 | 3,048,833 | £4.71 | £39.18m | 8,318,472 |
| SW: The Force Awakens | 17 Dec 2015 | £34.01 | 4,717,060 | £7.21 | £123m | 17,059,640 |
Real ticket price averages cinemagoers paid to see Star Wars The Force Awakens
| SW: The Force Awakens | 17 Dec 2015 | £34.01 | 3,580,000 | £9.50 | £123m | 12,947,368 |
| SW: The Force Awakens | 17 Dec 2015 | £34.01 | 2,841,667 | £12.00 | £123m | 10,250,000 |
| OWE | OWE Ads | AP | Total BO | Total Ads | ||
| Jurassic Park | 16 July 1993 | £9.043m | 2,817,134 | £3.21 | £50.15m | 15,623,053 |
| Jurassic World | 11 Jun 2015 | £19.29m | 2,675,451 | £7.21 | £63.21m | 8,766,991 |
| Bridget Jones’s Diary | 13 Apr 2001 | £5.72m | 1,381,642 | £4.14 | £41.69m | 10,070,048 |
| Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason | 12 Sept 2004 | £10.43m | 2,322,940 | £4.49 | £35.61m | 7,930,958 |
| Bridget Jones’s Baby | 16 Sep 2016 | £8.03m | 1,070,667 | £7.50 | £47.80m | 6,373,334 |
Real average ticket price
| Bridget Jones’s Baby | 16 Sep 2016 | £8.03m | 944,706 | £8.50 | £47.80m | 5,623,529 |
| Bridget Jones’s Baby | 16 Sep 2016 | £8.03m | 845,263 | £9.50 | £47.80m | 5,031,579 |
| Jurassic World | 11 Jun 2015 | £19.29m | 2,269,412 | £8.50 | £63.21m | 7,436,470 |
| Jurassic World | 11 Jun 2015 | £19.29m | 2,030,527 | £9.50 | £63.21m | 6,653,684 |
