Movie theatres and drive-ins

More Canadians than ever before flocked to the silver screen last year, lured by mega-theatres and mega-movies.

Total attendance at movie theatres and drive-ins hit a record high of 125.7 million in 2002/03, up 5.4% from 2000/01, the last time the survey was conducted.

The increase occurred despite a number of theatre closures, which resulted in 284 fewer screens in the country.

However, older larger theatres recorded an 11.9% increase in attendance, the first gain since 1999/2000. Blockbuster movies, which abounded in 2002/03, may have been a factor in this. In addition, 16 larger cinemas—those with operating revenue of $1 million and over—opened, mostly in urban centres. This combination pushed total attendance to a 43-year high.

Attendance has been generally rising since 1992/93, but the rate of growth has been decelerating in recent years. After increasing 14.0% in 1998/99, attendance rose 6.0% in 1999/2000 and 5.4% in 2002/03.

Attendance rose despite increases in admission prices. For example, the average admission price was up 14.9% from 2000/01 to $7.24 in 2002/03.

The industry earned $1.2 billion in operating revenues, up 21.1% from 2000/01. Admission receipts accounted for 69% of this total, while most of the remaining revenues came from refreshment bar sales.

The film exhibition industry also recorded an operating profit of $64.5 million in 2002/03, rebounding from a loss of $27.2 million in 2000/01.

The film exhibition industry also had fewer employees as result of theatre closures. The number of full-time staff declined 8.1% to 2,030, and part-time employment fell 20.9% to 15,969.

Drive-in theatres reported a total attendance of 1.5 million (1.2% of all theatre attendance) in 2002/03, down 10.6% from 2000/01, the seventh consecutive decline. Ten drive-ins closed during this period, and operating profits of drive-ins declined 3.5% to $1.6 million.

Albertans most avid moviegoers

Per-capita attendance in Alberta and British Columbia has continued to be above the national average for at least the past decade. Per-capita attendance in Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Manitoba exceeded the national average for the first time since at least 1997/98.

Residents of Alberta were still Canada's most avid moviegoers. On average each Albertan went to the movies 5.0 times in 2002/03. The Survey of Household Spending shows that households in Alberta spent an average of $132 on movies in 2002, the highest of all provinces.

This keen interest in movies in Alberta may be the result of high per-capita income, a younger age structure and a large number of chain-operated theatres in metropolitan areas.

Led by considerable attendance growth at multi-screen theatres, per-capita attendance nearly doubled in Newfoundland and Labrador from 2000/01. However, the province has still had the lowest per-capita attendance for the last many years.

Newfoundland and Labrador also reported the lowest average household spending on movies in 2002, about $67. This may be due to the concentration of theatres in a few larger urban centres and a lack of theatres in the numerous small communities.

Restructuring dominates in theatres

Attendance at movie theatres hit a 44-year high in 2002/03, despite restructuring in the industry that resulted in the closing of 122 theatres. Thirty-five of these were larger movie theatres that reported a total attendance of 8.6 million in 2000/01.

Total attendance at movie theatres, excluding drive-ins, reached 124.2 million in 2002/03, the highest level since 1958/59. Between 2000/01 and 2002/03, the number of visits to movie houses increased 5.6%, after remaining almost constant in 2000/01.

The loss of attendance from closures was almost offset by the opening of 33 new movie houses in 2002/03. These reported a total attendance of 10.3 million. Nearly two-thirds of this attendance was attributable to seven very large theatres, five of which opened in metropolitan centres in Ontario.

The higher attendance for larger theatres also resulted in increased market share. In 1991/92, larger theatres accounted for 27% of all theatres. By 2002/03, their share had grown to 43%. Over the same period, their market share of attendance rose from 67% to 89%.

Although movie theatre attendance increased, the number of seats fell 10.6% between 2000/01 and 2002/03, resulting in higher capacity utilization. For example, the proportion of seats filled, on average, increased from 18% to 24%.

Profitable year for movie theatres

Movie theatres, excluding drive-ins, reported a total profit of $62.9 million in 2002/03, rebounding from a loss of $28.9 million in 2000/01. Only the larger theatres were profitable, earning an average profit of $264,000. Medium-sized theatres incurred an average loss of $41,000 and small theatres, almost $3,000.

Again, the increase in profits was partly due to rationalization and restructuring within the industry. Thirty-five larger theatres that had reported a total loss of $2.7 million in 2000/01 were closed, as were 87 small and medium-sized theatres, which had suffered a total loss of $10.8 million in 2000/01.

Chain-operated movie theatres earned considerably higher profits than the independently operated theatres. This is because most of the chain theatres are multi-screen theatres located in urban centres. In 2002/03, the average profit for each chain theatre was $191,000, compared to $26,000 for each independent.

Although 33 newly opened movie houses accounted for 8.3% of the total attendance, they contributed only 1% to the total profits of movie theatres. Sixteen new larger cinemas earned a total of about $1 million, whereas small and medium-sized theatres had losses of $386,000. The low profit of larger new cinemas was largely the result of high occupancy costs and significant capital start-up expenses.

The increase in attendance for larger older theatres was accompanied by larger profits for these theatres. These theatres earned a total profit of $65.7 million in 2002/03, compared with a loss of $8.5 million in 2000/01.

The growth in attendance and higher admission prices was partly responsible for the profits of the older larger theatres. The average admission price for these cinemas rose 12.9% from 2000/01 to $7.43 in 2002/03. Their box office revenues grew 26.2% over this period.

Available on CANSIM: table 501-0010.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2416.

Selected details from the Motion Picture Theatres Survey in table format (87F0009XIE, free) are now available online. Data from this survey are also available by province and for the territories. Special tabulations are available on a cost-recovery basis.

For general information, contact Client Services (1-800-307-3382; cult.tourstats@statcan.gc.ca). To order special tables or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Norman Verma (613-951-6863, fax: 613-951-1333; norman.verma@statcan.gc.ca), Culture, Tourism and the Centre for Education Statistics.