15/02/2011

The number of spectators in all of Europe’s cinemas continues to grow, from Portugal to Russia: in 2009 there were 1,179.3 million, rising to 1,184.6 million, with a 0.4% increase in 2010. These are the figures announced by MEDIA Salles in the traditional appointment at the Berlinale.

If Europe as a whole is characterized by a positive trend, the analysis of individual markets, presented by Elisabetta Brunella, Secretary General of MEDIA Salles, reveals contradictory results. The 18 countries of Western Europe totalled 897.2 million spectators with a 2.6% decrease compared to 2009, when 921.2 million tickets were sold. Instead, Central-Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean Rim, comprising 15 countries, recorded considerable growth: 11.4. From 258.1 million, tickets sold rose to 287.4 million.

The spread of digital screens which experienced an authentic boom in Europe in 2009 (+205%), continued in 2010. The data collected by MEDIA Salles shows that at 20 June 2010 the number of European screens with DLP Cinema or SXRD technology amounted to 6,680.

Compared to 1st January 2010, when there were 4,684, the increase over six months amounted to 43%. The number of digital screens also equipped for 3D grew, too: from 3,467 it rose to 5,277, attaining a penetration of 79%.

Work on information, including their consolidated tools for the promotion of European films, has recently been integrated by MEDIA Salles by added attention to the social network. A page has been created on Facebook, with a constantly updated information service: the calendar of international releases for Italian films, with dates, countries of release and a wealth of other information.