Winter holidays are usually a strong point for national cinemas, however, this year was the opposite. According to data from Ultracine, the Argentine Film consultant, 4,665,000 tickets were sold. This is the worst record since the 3,550,000 in 2009.
In these measurements, the 2020 or 2021 figures are not taken into account, since, as a consequence of the pandemic, the rooms remained closed and their reopening occurred progressively. After 16 years, these are the first winter vacation where ticket sale did not exceed 5 million. The number of viewers is just above 4,330,000 in 2001the year in which the country went through one of its worst economic crises.
The cinema became a luxury activity
“The cinema has become very expensive compared to other recreations,” Analyzes the journalist specialized in culture and teacher Ezequiel Boetti. At the national level, the spectators are mostly concentrated in the province of Buenos Aires and the City of Buenos Aires, where The general entrance costs $ 15,000 on average.
On winter holiday, a type family, composed of two adults and two children, needed approximately $ 60,000 to go to the movies, not including pochoclos or drinks. There are spaces such as those of the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA) or independent rooms, such as Lorca cinema, located in CABA, which have more accessible prices. However, not the whole country has these alternatives.
Both film chains and independents have from bank promotions to cheaper prices depending on the day of the week. Even so, it was not an incentive for this July.
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“A film opens on the same date or the same week in practically everyone. Which often makes local distribution cannot make any adjustment that could agree a little more for performance at the box office ”, Boetti explains.
The five most viewed films of the month were “Jurassic World: Renace”, “F1: The movie”, “Superman”, “How to train your dragon” and “The Fantastic 4: First steps.” Only “Superman” and “The Fantastic 4: First Steps” were released during the winter break, while the others did weeks agosince their dates were designed for the summer holidays of the northern hemisphere.
Superman
“There are exhibition problems, which always existed. For example, There are few accessible schedules for people who consume subtitled films ”details Camila Pereyra, director of photography and creator of content (@algocinefila). The release date, the availability of schedule or the format depending on the public is no longer scheduled. But is not the spectator the main engine of the film industry?
With respect to the winter holidays last year, the fall of tickets sold was 20.9%. Beyond the winter break, the numbers are not positive either. In the first half of the year, the concurrence to theaters was almost 16.2 million, which meant a 6% drop compared to the same period in 2024.
“These are stages, being positive, nothing changes the experience of going to the movies,” adds Camila Pereyra. Although Ezequiel Boetti also tries to stay optimistic, he argues that Everything indicates “that this process of foreignization and concentration of the billboard will continue.”
In this economic context where the film industry is starring the Hollywood tanks, The cinema became a luxury activity. Even with bank promotions or special prices, Seeing a movie on the big screen was one of the least chosen options for this winter holiday. What awaits you in the summer? You can’t know exactly because, While the cinema ignites its alarms, it knows that it still has to cross the rest of the year.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
