EASTERN EUROPE TO BOOST CINEMA MARKET

EUROPE is on the brink of a cinema boom both in terms of box office revenues and new multiplex development, says a new report published this week by media analysts, Screen Digest.
The report – Cinema Exhibition and Distribution in Europe – forecasts that the potential of Eastern Europe will fuel continued growth in the European market as a whole. Box office revenue in Europe is forecast to grow by nearly 30 per cent from Euro 4.8bn in 2000 to Euro 6.2bn in 2005. Whilst the largest Eastern Europe territories will see most growth, Germany, UK and Sweden will see the lowest box office growth rates.
The pattern is repeated in the area of new multiplex development. According to Screen Digest, multiplex cinemas in Europe will grow at a rate of more than 31 per cent over the next five years. While non-multiplex cinemas will decline by – 4 per cent over the same period. However, there is expected to be a significant slowdown in new build multiplex sites in the largest European territories following the boom of the 1990s.
In Eastern Europe, multiplex screens currently account for 13 per cent of all screens and this is expected to grow to 32 per cent of all screens in the region by 2005. In the UK by comparison, where multiplex cinemas currently account for 62 per cent of all screens, the rate of proportional growth will be much slower.
(GB)