Cinemas hold their own amid rise of streaming services as new figures show 176million tickets were sold in 2019
- Ticket sales from 2019 almost on par with 2018 which saw 177million admissions
- Popularity comes despite The Irishman and Marriage Story launched on Netflix
- Boom is due to blockbusters such as Avengers: Endgame and Toy Story 4
The rise in popularity of streaming services has had the cinema industry quaking in its boots.
But while many of this year’s Oscar-nominated films are available to watch from your sofa, it seems that people are still choosing to make a visit to their local big screen.
More than 176million cinema tickets were bought in the UK last year – worth over £1.25billion at the box office.
More than 176million cinema tickets were bought in the UK last year – worth over £1.25billion at the box office. Partly due to films such as Toy Story 4
This is almost on a par with 2018, which saw 177million admissions – a 50-year high.
The popularity comes despite the number of films, including The Irishman and Marriage Story, which have launched on Netflix at the same time as being released in cinemas.
The boom in ticket sales is due to the popularity of blockbusters including Avengers: Endgame, The Lion King and Toy Story 4 – all of which saw huge cinema audiences last year.
The popularity comes despite the number of films, including The Irishman and Marriage Story, which have launched on Netflix at the same time as being released in cinemas. Stock picture
A rise in big screen releases of independent films also contributed to ticket sales, as did the trend for screenings of remastered and reissued classics.
Iain Jacob, from Cinema First, the UK industry body which released the figures, said: ‘The 2019 figures prove that cinema is alive and in remarkable shape with audiences having better access to a diverse film slate and massive investment, making the big screen experience better value than ever.’