Misery at the Multiplex

Movie attendance numbers are down again, much to the worry of the cinema industry.

Ticket sales last year in America were at their second lowest level in the past 25 years.

While box office revenues still seem high, those figures are fueled by rising ticket prices rather than attendance.

The number of tickets sold in the US in 2019 crashed to a lowly 1.24 billion as audiences deserted the multiplex in droves.

Multiple misfires like Cats, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Gemini Man, Missing Link, Hellboy, Ugly Dolls, The Kitchen and Charlie’s Angels all contributed to the slump in attendance.

If it were not for several Disney mega hits like Avengers: Endgame, Frozen 2 and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the numbers would have been much worse.

But with fewer Disney blockbusters set for release in 2020 and competition from streaming services on the rise, it’s hard to see the ticket crisis turning around anytime soon.

— Sandro Monetti