Czech admissions fall but sales rise on ticket price increase

According to the Union of Film Distributors, year-end admissions stood at 12.7m, down from 12.9m in 2008. The average ticket price crept up to $5.45 (CZK 100.33) from $5.14 the previous year.

While overall admissions were down, the multiplex market grew its share accounting for 87% of the total box office. Admissions rose by1.3% year-on-year and sales were up by 5.9%.

The Czech Republic has six multiplex operators and 196 multiplex screens. The largest exhibitor is Palace Cinemas, with 56 screens and 12,224 seats.

Cinema advertising was also down last year, falling 14% to $6.4m.

The top 10 films earned a combined total of $26.6m, which was driven by a mix of local and international titles. Local feature You Kiss Like God was the territories top grossing film with 904,589 admissions and sales of $4.9m. Meanwhile, other local projects The Grapes 2 earned $1.9m and also made the top five, while fairy tale Hell With The Princess took $1.1m

Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs was the highest-grossing non-Czech film, earning $5.3m. Avatar drew a whopping 375,733 admissions and $2.9m in sales in just two weeks.

Top ten films in the Czech Republic in 2009