Cinema: 15% drop in attendance is estimated during the quarter of June, July and August

In line with a decline in the global cinema industry, where the industry was hit by the scarce material resulting from the screenwriters’ strike in Hollywood, In Argentina, there was a 20% drop in cinema attendance in July compared to last year.

However It should be noted that June registered the record for admissions since 1997 thanks to “Inside Out 2”, which so far has a cumulative total of 6.3 million of spectators still without surpassing the milestone of “Toy Story 4” of 2019, which remains the highest-grossing film in the country, with 6.6 million viewers.

July suffered a drop at the box office despite the releases of “Despicable Me”, “Deadpool” and the continuity of “Inside Out 2” triad that brought together 10 million spectators. These are eloquent figures but they are not enough to match the 2023 record.

Thus, it is estimated that the June, July and August quarter will see a decrease of 15% to 18% compared to 2023, which is good in the current context of a country where other activities fell two or three times as much. And if we compare January to July, the drop is 7% compared to 2023.

The most worrying thing is in national cinema, whose floor reached 72%. In this regard Marcelo Harari Cinema La Plata, which brings together five complexes, said: “The drop is obvious because there were no premieres and it is due to the non-appearance of Argentine cinema in either the select or popular cinema segment. There are no famous people who keep the box office up, like Francella or Darín, there was no production that could give eloquence to the importance of Argentine cinema. This cinema represents 15% or 20% of the annual box office, it is a very important loss and we are waiting for national production to be reactivated. In addition, there is a habit among people addicted to Argentine cinema who go more than once to see national production.”

Sources from INCAA told Ambito that next year there will be a minimal number of Argentine films on screen due to the lack of funding and the decree that cancels the screen quota. Films are not being produced and the most important ones are for platforms. So unless a “1985” appears that did more box office in theaters than on the Platform (although it cannot be considered 100% Argentine cinema since the financing is from the Platform) Argentine cinema will decline.

The trend is to film with international co-producers, because the average local cost is converted into dollars, which means that local producers can only be very minor producers on the verge of not even being able to reach the minimum required. Intellectual Property is also put at risk, since nothing produced with external financing or under limited participation conditions will leave income for local producers or films that tell their own stories.

Of course, the other side points to the fact that hundreds of Argentine films are produced that “Nobody will see”Sources from the exhibitors considered: “I never understood the point of spending money on productions that don’t attract an audience, while films that are commercially interesting work. A good Argentine film works better than a foreign one. We in cinemas fight over those films. With this law, there may be less work, but commercially viable films will continue to be made. The screen quota is due to the need to release those films that nobody sees and the cinemas are losing money. It means programming a film and having a cinema practically closed, we do it to comply with the law and if there is no obligation, we will stop showing what doesn’t attract an audience. We lose money to continue the cycle of productions that don’t benefit anyone. We are tired of having empty cinemas with films that are not seen and that we show compulsively. We had to show one Argentine film per quarter per cinema and there was pressure to increase the screen quota.”

Nicholas Ojeda, CEO of Multiplex, considered: “If there are premieres that attract audiences, the public comes, regardless of the crisis or the price of the ticket. But there were not so many premieres due to the nine-month strike in Hollywood over AI. Although we are below 2023, we hope to balance or surpass last year’s mark with the upcoming releases of “Mufasa”, “Moana 2” and “Joker 2”.

Gabriel Feldman, spokesperson for the Multiplex, He went back to the pandemic to explain the phenomenon: “We were doing very well until the pandemic, when the cinema was breaking records. But the pandemic changed everything and film production and exhibition stopped, and platforms multiplied. Not only were we closed for two years, but when we opened we didn’t have good merchandise to offer. The recovery of the cinema was much slower than other activities. 2023 was 10% below the pre-pandemic level, let’s remember that we had been coming from very good years. This year there is a recession, however, cinema is an economic and popular outlet that costs an average of 4,200 pesos and people keep coming. What happens is that the cinema was affected by the screenwriters’ strike that hit production and the material we had to exhibit. The first half of this year in the world was very bad, Argentina was no exception.”