Cinema box office sales at half of pre-pandemic levels
Cinema sales have been slashed in half compared to pre-pandemic levels despite the easing of lockdown restrictions a month ago.
According to Comscore’s Box Office tracker, £65.7m was spent at the cinema in the four weeks after lockdown released on July 19. Cinema-goers paid £129m over the same period in 2019.
The weekend after lockdown was released, box office takings stood at $8.8m, a drop of 72 per cent compared to the equivalent weekend in 2019, which saw sales of $31.1m.
Many cinemas are still operating with social distancing measures in place which has hampered capacity in screens across the UK. Meanwhile, the burgeoning popularity of video streaming subscription sites due to covid-19 lockdowns could also be affecting demand.
Despite the sluggish figures, in more promising news for the industry box office takings are still up substantially compared to 2020.
Last weekend, box office takings of $13.3m were recorded for the UK, although well below pre-pandemic levels, they were up 898.9 per cent compared to the same weekend in 2020.
Admissions in 2021 have been driven by the release of Peter Rabbit 2, which has pulled in £19.7m at the box office, Black Widow, with sales of £18.2m, and F9: The Fast Saga, with box office takings of £16.3m.
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