European cinemas focus: how Spain’s Cine Seniors scheme is luring back older audiences

Exhibitors and distributors in Spain are delighted with the results of the Cine Senior campaign launched by national film body ICAA, which ran from July to December last year. The government invested €10m ($10.8m) to fund the scheme, giving cinemas the option to offer audience members aged 65 and over tickets at €2 ($2.70) on Tuesdays.

The government’s goal was to boost an exhibition sector still struggling after the pandemic. A total of 420 commercial theatres in Spain, with a combined 3,000 screens, were eligible. The campaign looked to attract the age groups most vulnerable during the pandemic back to the cinema.

An ICAA survey from the period March 2021 to February 2022 showed a significant difference in attendance according to age: those aged 20-24 comprised 49% of the audience that visited the cinema at least once a year, while the percentage for the retired age cohort had dropped to 6%, down from 12% of the audience in pre-pandemic 2018-19.

Significant impact

Now, the impact of the Cine Senior campaign seems to have made a significant difference. Attendance rose in 2023 and, most importantly, exhibitors and distributors agree the measure has helped consolidate a much higher attendance of over-65s in cinemas.

According to data released by the Spanish film exhibitors federation FECE for the first iteration of Cine Senior, cinema attendance on Tuesdays in the second half of 2023 increased 50% compared to the same period in 2022, and in the case of the senior audience Tuesday attendance was 23% higher than for the same period in 2019, considered the best year for theatrical exhibition in the last decade.

Cine Senior delivered 925,000 admissions between July and December 2023, and the most popular films chosen by that audience in this period, according to FECE data, were Napoleon, Killers Of The Flower Moon, Oppenheimer, and Spanish-language comedies Campeonex and A Moroccan Affair.

“The impact has been extremely significant”, says Alex Lafuente, CEO and co-founder of producer/distributor BTeam Pictures, which specialises in European and independent Spanish cinema. “Revenue for our films on Tuesdays has been very good. And not only on Tuesdays. The senior audience has clearly got back into the habit of going to the cinema in the week, and numbers have gone up on other weekdays. Practically all the films we released last autumn have benefited, especially Spanish films.”

The €2 tickets for seniors can only be bought at the cinema’s booths, not online, and the user must provide proof of age with an official ID card. The number of subsidised tickets available is set by the cinema’s capacity. Once the tickets are sold, the data is then submitted to the Ministry of Culture to access a subsidy up to €3 ($3.20) per ticket. The average cost of a weekday ticket in Spain is around €6 ($6.50).

Encouraged by the results, the Spanish government is expected to renew the subsidy. Hopes are high that the new edition of Cine Senior will be up and running after the Easter break, in April or May.

Enrique Gonzalez Kuhn, CEO of distribution company Caramel, points out the importance of cinema­going as a renewed habit for older audiences.

“Senior citizens have got used to going to the cinema, and attendance on Tuesdays has remained higher than before,” he says. “When the initiative is renewed, we expect even better results — people are familiar with the deal and they will be eager to go back to the cinema.”

The exhibitors federation in Spain is also aiming to start talks with the government to address the other end of the age spectrum. “The idea is to encourage education about cinema among schoolchildren and teens and draw them to the theatres, nurturing future audiences,” says Luis Gil, director general of FECE. “We are looking into similar initiatives in other countries, like France, for inspiration.”