Movie attendance is measured mainly through admissions or tickets sold, while box-office revenue and ticket price describe related but different parts of theatrical performance. The figures below cover worldwide, regional and national markets, with pandemic-era comparisons kept separate from longer-term benchmarks.
Key Movie Attendance Statistics
These highlights summarize the most useful attendance and market measures:
- The worldwide box-office market reached $42.3 billion in 2019, before falling to $11.8 billion in 2020.
- The worldwide box-office market reached $21.3 billion in 2021, up 81% from 2020.
- International markets represented 79% of worldwide box office in 2021, excluding the United States and Canada from the international total.
- Wider European admissions exceeded 861 million tickets in 2023, 133 million more than in 2022.
- Wider European admissions reached 77.3% of the 2017–2019 average in 2023, using an average of 1.1 billion admissions.
- U.S./Canada admissions were 1.24 billion in 2019, equivalent to 3.5 admissions per person aged 2+.
- U.S./Canada admissions were 0.47 billion in 2021, up 100% from 2020.
- China recorded $7.3 billion in box office in 2021, the largest market outside the United States and Canada in the MPA report.
- Asia-Pacific box office reached $10.9 billion in 2021, up 89% from 2020.
- EU27 plus UK admissions reached 784 million in 2023, 19.6% above 2022 but 20.1% below the pre-pandemic average.
- European cinemas generated an estimated €6.7 billion in 2023, up 22.3% from 2022.
- UK/ROI admissions reached 123.6 million in 2023, up 5.5% from 2022 but 30% below 2019.
- The average UK cinema ticket cost £7.92 in 2023, 11% above the 2019 average of £7.12.
- The top 20 UK/ROI films generated 61% of 2023 box office, compared with 60% in 2019.
- Fourteen European films exceeded 10 million tickets sold in 2023, while 113 exceeded 1 million admissions.
- European films accounted for 26.4% of European cinema tickets in 2023, compared with 70.1% for American titles.
- Barbie sold close to 50 million tickets in Europe in 2023, according to available LUMIERE coverage.
Contents
- Global movie attendance trends
- U.S. and Canada admissions data
- International movie attendance by region
- European cinema attendance statistics
- UK and Ireland attendance, prices and concentration
- Movie attendance by film type and title reach
Global Movie Attendance Trends
The Motion Picture Association’s 2021 THEME Report places the pandemic shock in context. Its worldwide box-office measure covers all films released in each country, regardless of distributor or origin, and is a revenue measure rather than a ticket count.
| Period | Worldwide box office | International excluding U.S./Canada |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | $42.3 billion | — |
| 2020 | $11.8 billion | — |
| 2021 | $21.3 billion | $16.8 billion |
Source: 2021 THEME Report.
The worldwide market increased 81% from 2020 to 2021, while the international market excluding the United States and Canada increased 76% to $16.8 billion. International markets represented 79% of worldwide box office in 2021, a share based on rounded report values.
Even after the rebound, 2021 remained 48% below the 2017 level. Reopening effects, theater closures and local restrictions make pandemic-year comparisons less comparable than ordinary year-to-year changes.
In Europe, attendance recovery was visible in ticket counts as well as revenue. Wider European admissions exceeded 861 million in 2023, an increase of 133 million or 18.3% from 2022, but the total represented 77.3% of the 2017–2019 average of 1.1 billion admissions.
U.S. and Canada Admissions Data
U.S./Canada admissions in the MPA report are estimates calculated from Comscore box office and the National Association of Theatre Owners’ average ticket price. The 2021 ticket price was estimated from the prior five-year average annual change, and per-capita measures use the population aged 2+.
| Year | Admissions | Admissions per person aged 2+ |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 1.36 billion | 4.1 |
| 2013 | 1.34 billion | — |
| 2014 | 1.27 billion | — |
| 2015 | 1.32 billion | — |
| 2016 | 1.32 billion | — |
| 2017 | 1.24 billion | — |
| 2018 | 1.30 billion | — |
| 2019 | 1.24 billion | 3.5 |
| 2020 | 0.24 billion | 0.7 |
| 2021 | 0.47 billion | 1.3 |
Source: 2021 THEME Report.
Admissions declined from 1.36 billion in 2012 to 1.24 billion in 2019, while admissions per person aged 2+ declined from 4.1 to 3.5. The pandemic then reduced admissions to 0.24 billion in 2020 before the estimate doubled to 0.47 billion in 2021.
The 2021 per-capita estimate was 1.3 admissions per person aged 2+, up 91% from 0.7 in 2020. These figures are not the percentage of people who attended; they count admissions relative to the defined population and can include multiple visits by one person.
International Movie Attendance by Region
The 2021 international picture varied substantially by market and region. Dollar-denominated changes can differ from local-currency trends because exchange rates affect comparisons.
| Market or region | 2021 box office or change | Measurement |
|---|---|---|
| China | $7.3 billion | Box office |
| Japan | $1.5 billion | Box office |
| United Kingdom | $0.8 billion | Box office |
| EMEA | $5.0 billion, up 53% | Box office; year over year |
| Asia Pacific | $10.9 billion, up 89% | Box office; year over year |
| Latin America | $0.9 billion, up 72% | Box office; year over year |
Source: 2021 THEME Report.
China drove a $4.4 billion increase in Asia-Pacific box office from 2020 to 2021. The report identifies China’s $7.3 billion 2021 box office as the largest market outside the United States and Canada.
Several national markets also recorded strong year-over-year rebounds: the United Kingdom and Ireland increased 93%, Russia 78%, France 56%, Mexico 104% and Brazil 17%. These are pandemic-era comparisons, so reopening timing and restrictions materially affect the percentages.
European Cinema Attendance Statistics
The European Audiovisual Observatory reports admissions and revenue separately. Its wider-Europe coverage excludes Azerbaijan, while its country and title data rely on the LUMIERE database available at the stated extraction date.
EU27 plus UK admissions reached 784 million in 2023, up 19.6% from 2022. That total was still 20.1% below the pre-pandemic 2017–2019 average of 982 million admissions.
| Measure | 2023 result | Comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Wider Europe admissions | More than 861 million | Up 18.3% from 2022 |
| EU27 plus UK admissions | 784 million | 19.6% above 2022 |
| Wider Europe box office | Estimated €6.7 billion | Up 22.3% from €5.5 billion |
| EU27 plus UK box office | Estimated €6.2 billion | Up 22.1% from 2022 |
Source: GBO in Europe up to EUR 6.7 billion in 2023, cinema attendance reached 861 million tickets sold.
Revenue grew faster than attendance in the wider-Europe comparison, but revenue is not attendance and reflects ticket-price inflation. National attendance changes also varied: Ukraine increased 60.1% in 2023, Italy 59.2% and Albania 42.0%, while Turkey decreased 12.9%.
Recovery rates show another kind of variation. Georgia reached 117% of its pre-pandemic benchmark in 2023, while Sweden reached 68%; these rates compare with national 2017–2019 benchmarks, not population shares.
UK and Ireland Attendance, Prices and Concentration
The British Film Institute reports 123.6 million UK/ROI admissions in 2023, up 5.5% from 2022. Attendance remained 30% below 2019’s 176 million admissions.
The UK/ROI box office totaled £985.8 million across 822 films in 2023. That was 4% above 2022’s £945 million but 24% below 2019, and the comparison reflects ticket prices and film mix as well as audience volume.
The average UK cinema ticket price was £7.92 in 2023, up from £7.70 in 2022 and 11% above the 2019 average of £7.12. An average price does not describe every venue or ticket type and does not directly measure affordability or the likelihood of attending.
Monthly attendance followed the release calendar rather than a seasonally adjusted pattern. UK admissions reached 17.6 million in July 2023 and 14.6 million in August, compared with a monthly average of 10.3 million.
Box-office concentration was high. The top 20 UK/ROI films generated £588.6 million, or 61% of 2023 box office, compared with £753 million and 60% of total box office in 2019.
Source: Official BFI 2023 statistics.
Movie Attendance by Film Type and Title Reach
Title performance was concentrated among recognizable properties in the UK/ROI market. Sixteen of the 20 highest-grossing films in 2023 were prequels, sequels, live-action remakes or existing-franchise films, compared with 12 of the top 20 in 2022.
Four toy-, game- or video-game-based adaptations placed in the 2023 UK/ROI top 20 and generated £179.7 million, or 18.7% of annual box office. Barbie alone grossed £95.6 million in the UK/ROI, equal to 10% of the year’s box office.
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour generated £12.3 million in UK/ROI box office in 2023 and was the highest-grossing event release there at the time of the report. Event and concert releases were excluded from the feature-film total.
European title reach provides a broader attendance measure. Of 13,796 feature films screened in European cinemas in 2023, 14 exceeded 10 million tickets sold and 113 exceeded 1 million admissions, including 39 European productions.
European films accounted for 26.4% of European cinema tickets sold in 2023, while American titles accounted for 70.1%. These market shares require assigning one country of origin to each film, including co-productions.
Barbie sold close to 50 million tickets in Europe in 2023 under the available LUMIERE coverage. European film production reached 2,347 feature titles in 2023, the second-highest figure after 2019; production is an industry-supply measure, not an attendance measure.
Source: Official BFI 2023 statistics and GBO in Europe up to EUR 6.7 billion in 2023, cinema attendance reached 861 million tickets sold.