Local moviegoers proved that animated antics, superheroes and homegrown rom-coms were the ultimate formula to entice them back to the dark rooms

And a Happy New Year 2 by Jakub Kroner

In the wake of COVID-19 restrictions, financial uncertainty, and energy and inflation crises, Slovakia's cinema attendance slowly stabilised in 2022, as moviegoers returned to watch the big screens. Last year, Slovak cinemas welcomed a total of 4,335,250 visitors, representing a 33.6% decrease compared to 2019, a year unaffected by the pandemic. However, when compared to 2020 (see the news) and 2021 (see the news), attendance significantly increased (by 83.32% and 112.73%, respectively), despite periods of extended cinema closures.

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In 2022, box-office revenues reached a total of €27,985,001 across 190,261 screenings. Interestingly, pre-pandemic and pandemic theatre-going patterns remained consistent. James Cameron’s underwater epic Avatar: The Way of Water fell short of expectations, ranking as the second-most-visited film of the year with 220,783 paying viewers (€1,675,427). In the end, blue was beaten by yellow, as the top spot was nabbed by the animated hit Minions: The Rise of Gru, with 293,466 tickets sold (€1,805,350). Rounding off the top three was a Slovak production, Jakub Kroner's “lifestyle rom-com” And a Happy New Year 2, continuing its dominance from 2021 with 190,516 tickets sold (€1,226,017), thus proving to be a local fan favourite.

The winning formula for Slovak theatres includes animated children's films, US blockbusters and local rom-coms. The sequel featuring Sega's ring-obsessed mascot Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ranked sixth, grossing €928,327. The forever-young Tom Cruise in the high-flying sequel Top Gun: Maverick lagged behind the supercharged hedgehog in terms of ticket sales (148,750) but outgrossed it at the box office, raking in €1,014,642. Slovak rom-coms, such as Marta Ferencová's Till the Summer Comes, remained popular, with the film becoming the second-highest-grossing domestic production at €818,331 (125,478 theatre-goers) and the ninth-most-visited film of the year. Slovak films attracted 552,409 local viewers overall. The Marvel franchises Thor: Love and Thunder (€1,199,941), Spider-Man: No Way Home (€1,021,420) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (€1,106,900) claimed the fourth, fifth and eighth spots, respectively.

The source of the data used in this article is the Union of Film Distributors Slovakia – the news is available here (in Slovakian).