Cinema admissions dropped 4% in 2013 and then 2.9% in 2014 the biggest drop since 1991 with exhibitors blaming as they always do the films as the excuse but 2014 had The Hobbit The Battle of the Fives Armies, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1, X-Men Days of Future Past along with surprises Guardians of the Galaxy, Paddington and The Lego Movie which has been missing from the box office hits.
Many will say 50 Shades of Grey was a surprise but it performed similar to Twilight films which it was based on Inside Out is the only real surprise but being a Pixar film it always had high expectations.
Exhibitors looked at 2015 slate of films thought all their Christmases had come at once as on paper was an incredible slate of films Avengers Age of Ultron, Jurassic World, The Minions Movie, Fast & Furious 7, The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2, Spectre and Star Wars The Force Awakens plus many more.
At the start of the year many experts were predicting admissions would finally break the 200m barrier in the UK. Much has been made UK admissions are claimed to be the highest since 1971 176m but would see a tiny increase on 2002.
Since 2009 box office has grown 12% from £944m to £1,057 billion in 2014 while average ticket price as via British Film Institute/Cinema Exhibitors Association figures is up 23.5% from £5.44 to £6.72 (actual increase is far more as few people pay less than £9 to see a film in the cinema now). 2009 was the year of Avatar and the year of 3D and exhibitors started adding a third to tickets for 3D. Films like Jurassic World, Avengers Age of Ultron and Minions Movie might be taking big box office but these big numbers are hiding the truth of the state of the UK cinema attendance which the industry seems to be in denial about as they seem to believe just because the numbers are bigger more people are going to the cinema.
Hidden within the admission figures since 2009 has been the surcharges from 3D and IMAX in recent years this has also included Secret Cinema and Event Cinema with tickets for both far more than regular tickets.
Secret Cinema The Empire Strikes Back recently ended a 10 week run taking £6.32m its official admissions was 100,000 but when its box office is added to the yearly total and then divided to calculate admissions will 100,000 be added of 880,000 (using claimed £7.12 average ticket price).
Similarly with Event Cinema which has grown in popularity in recent years but tickets recently for Othello at Everyman Cinemas where £37 and the upcoming NT Live Hamlet Odeon are charging 100% more than regular price tickets 60%+ Vue and 73%+ Cineworld charging similar prices for Take That Live.
Odeon last November brought in a “blockbuster” charge of £1 with Interstellar (this is being increased to £1.50 for Spectre) similar charges have been added by other exhibitors who are now charging different prices for different films; Cinemas now have more price tariffs than Easyjet.
In 1994 box office experts were predicting admissions would top 200m by 2000 instead they climbed much slower reaching a peak of 175.9m in 2002 and in the years since have flat-lined. Whilst the box office has been flat since 2009 seeing only 12% increase in the last 6 years this due to 23.5% ticket increases since 2009 from £5.44 to £6.72 if 2015 was really as big as the industry claims annual box office for 2015 needs to beat £1.235 billion 173.5m+ admissions.
UK admissions saw a huge boost in 1996 due to National Cinema Day on June 15th when all cinemas were £1 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of cinema was repeated again the following year both years saw huge increases in admissions next year is the 120th anniversary and would be good to hold similar events to get people back into the cinema going habit.
Avengers Age of Ultron, Jurassic World, The Minions Movie and Fast & Furious 7 all performed strongly as did 50 Shades of Grey and Inside Out. There is now a bigger gap between these premiere league mega earners taking £35m+ and other releases with Home taking £24m. Audiences are coming out to see the mega-movies but the smaller films are suffering as audiences have become much more selective on the films they see.
Spectre
The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2
Star Wars The Force Awakens
All expected to open with £12m+ and go on to take £30m+ for Spectre and Star Wars The Force Awakens £50m+.
But before and between them there are many more films are likely to cannibalizing themselves to avoid opening near them not helped also by the London Film Festival which also makes distributors want to use the media coverage the films generate to boost their profile when released.
Between October 2nd – 23rd The Martian, The Intern, Macbeth, The Walk, Sicario, The Lobster, The Program, Crimson Peak, Pan, Hotel Transylvania 2, Suffragette and Paranormal Activity The Ghost Dimension all open before Spectre opens October 26th.
With similar cannibalizing between Spectre and The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2 and Star Wars The Force Awakens.
There has been much hyping for both Spectre and Star Wars in recent weeks thanks mostly to toys and promotions but Mockingjay Part 2 has still been voted the most eagerly awaited film of winter. Expectations and hype of the other two will give them big openings but its very rare for the hype to live up to the film but did for The Hunger Games film series.
As we move into October we look to the slate of films for 2016 which on paper again looks even more impressive than 2015 and we will likely see if Steven Spielberg is correct or Mark Millar over the future of comic-book movies with so many set for release in 2016. Independence Day Resurgence opening 20 years after the original was released was in 1996 the second highest grossing film worldwide behind Jurassic Park taking $817m.