Artnewspress :
Box office in Australia fell by 69% in 2020 as the coronavirus outbreak forced cinema closures, capacity restrictions, the postponement of film releases and public health concerns about attending theatres.
Data published on Thursday by the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia showed nationwide annual revenues slumped from A$1.23 billion ($937 million) in 2019 to just A$401 million ($306 million) in 2020. Locally-made films grossed an aggregate A$22.6 million ($17.3 million), down from A$40 million ($30.5 million) a year earlier, for a market share of 5.6% (3.3% in 2019).
The MPDAA said that the outcome “was a testament to the Australian public’s ongoing love of seeing movies on the big screen (and that) this result is especially encouraging given the acceleration of audience fragmentation through growing digital content services coupled with stay-at-home trends during the pandemic.”
