European cinema box office and admissions fell slightly in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to figures released today by European trade group the International Union of Cinemas (Unic).
Admissions decreased by 1.4% across Unic’s 39 territories, with box office down just 0.3%. Total admissions were 975.5m, with box office just over €7.2bn.
Unic reports that the US actors and writers strikes “had a lingering impact in the first half of the year”, but that takings remained on par with 2023 “despite the tough context”.
Admissions were up in multiple Unic territories, including UK-Ireland, France, Greece, Turkey and Ukraine.
National films
With a knock-on delay on US releases, several European territories saw record market share for local films in 2024.
Bulgaria had a record 24.4% market share for national titles, three times higher than in 2023; and a year-on-year box office increase of 10.8% with admissions up 4.1%. Standout titles included Dimitar Dimitrov’s Gundi: Legend Of Love, a biopic of 1960s footballer Georgi ‘Gundi’ Asparuhov.
Finland had a record 31.3% national market share, with over 2m admissions for local films. Tiina Lymi’s local title Stormskerry Maja, about a 17-year-old girl forced into being a fisherman’s wife against her will, was the country’s top film by admissions with 470,000, ahead of Disney blockbuster Inside Out 2.
National market share in Lithuania increased by 5.4% to 20.2; while in Poland it was up over 4% to 23%.
Admissions were up 1% in France across 2024, with 10 local films surpassing 1m entries. A Little Something Extra, The Count Of Monte-Cristo and Beating Hearts sold over 25m tickets collectively; while Monsieur Aznavour, Emilia Perez and Autumn and the Black Jaguar each topped 1m. The country recorded the second-best national market share of all 39 Unic territories, at 44%; behind Turkey, which had a 50% national market share and recorded a huge 77.6% increase in box office to 4,994m Turkish lira.
UK admissions grew 2.3% to 126.5m, spurred by a strong November and December when admissions were up 77% and 36% respectively. Share for local titles was up from 10% to 17%, through films such as Studiocanal’s Back To Black and Paddington In Peru.
Russia – a Unic member – saw a 19% increase in its box office compared to 2023, up to ₽46,340m; although this came largely through increased ticket prices, with admissions only up 1%.
Territories that struggles included Cyprus, where box office was down 15.2% in 2024; Austria, where it dropped 10.5%; and Luxembourg, down 10.3%. Box office and admissions were also down across Nordic territories, dropping 4.2% and 2.2% respectively in Denmark; 4.3% and 5.5% in Finland; 9.5% and 12.7% in Norway; and 8.2% and 7.9% in Sweden.
National Cinema Days returned in countries including France, with the best-attended edition of La Fete du Cinema at 4.65m admissions, up 50% on 2023.
Unic has also highlighted projections from Gower Street Analytics, which estimate global box office will grow by $2.5bn in 2025 to reach $33bn, with EMEA at $9.1bn.
“Our message is clear: continue to bring quality, diverse and well-marketed films to the big screen and the audiences will follow,” said Laura Houlgatte, Unic CEO.
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