While smaller crowds make movie-going more intimate, it doesn't help large multiplex owners.
RIGA — Movie theaters typically make more money during a recession as people seek the silver screen’s innate escapism, but not in Latvia.
Latvian cinemas saw a 17.4 percent drop in visitors last year, the steepest decline in the European Union, the European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO) announced Wednesday.
By contrast, Estonia and Lithuania in 2009 saw a 9.4 percent and a 3.2 percent rise in viewers compared with the previous year. Europe-wide, the EAO estimated that [private_supervisor] the number of tickets sold reached 985 million, a 6.5 percent increase year-on-year.
“The increasing number of 3-D blockbusters like “Ice Age 3” or “Avatar” selling tickets at premium prices is likely to have been a major contributing factor in this development,” the observatory said in a statement.
In addition to Latvia, only five other EU members (out of 27) saw declines in moviegoer attendance last year — Finland, Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy and Portugal.
According to the EAO, box office sales fell 15.4 percent in Latvia last year to 5.9 million lats (€8.3 million). In Lithuania box office receipts were up 8.1 percent annually to 36.6 million litai (€10.5 million), while those in Estonia grew 3.4 percent to 117 million krooni (€7.4 million).
[/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]the number of tickets sold reached 985 million, a 6.5 percent increase year-on-year.
“The increasing number of 3-D blockbusters like “Ice Age 3” or “Avatar” selling tickets at premium prices is likely to have been a major contributing factor in this development,” the observatory said in a statement.
In addition to Latvia, only five other EU members (out of 27) saw declines in moviegoer attendance last year — Finland, Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy and Portugal.
According to the EAO, box office sales fell 15.4 percent in Latvia last year to 5.9 million lats (€8.3 million). In Lithuania box office receipts were up 8.1 percent annually to 36.6 million litai (€10.5 million), while those in Estonia grew 3.4 percent to 117 million krooni (€7.4 million).[/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]the number of tickets sold reached 985 million, a 6.5 percent increase year-on-year.
“The increasing number of 3-D blockbusters like “Ice Age 3” or “Avatar” selling tickets at premium prices is likely to have been a major contributing factor in this development,” the observatory said in a statement.
In addition to Latvia, only five other EU members (out of 27) saw declines in moviegoer attendance last year — Finland, Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy and Portugal.
According to the EAO, box office sales fell 15.4 percent in Latvia last year to 5.9 million lats (€8.3 million). In Lithuania box office receipts were up 8.1 percent annually to 36.6 million litai (€10.5 million), while those in Estonia grew 3.4 percent to 117 million krooni (€7.4 million).[/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]the number of tickets sold reached 985 million, a 6.5 percent increase year-on-year.
“The increasing number of 3-D blockbusters like “Ice Age 3” or “Avatar” selling tickets at premium prices is likely to have been a major contributing factor in this development,” the observatory said in a statement.
In addition to Latvia, only five other EU members (out of 27) saw declines in moviegoer attendance last year — Finland, Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy and Portugal.
According to the EAO, box office sales fell 15.4 percent in Latvia last year to 5.9 million lats (€8.3 million). In Lithuania box office receipts were up 8.1 percent annually to 36.6 million litai (€10.5 million), while those in Estonia grew 3.4 percent to 117 million krooni (€7.4 million).[/private_subscription 1 year]
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