20/07/2005

The figures for cinema admissions in Portuguese theatres for the period January-July 2005 looks like being deceptive for both distributors and exhibitors. According to data announced by ICAM; the first quarter of the year lost 856.259 moviegoers, a reduction of 10,75% compared to the first 6 months of 2004.

Among the possible explanations are the competition from the DVD market, the absence of blockbusters in the first part of the year and the abnormally dry climate. The market trend is on a downturn for two years now. After the boom at the end of the 1990's, 2002 registered 18,72 million moviegoers and 2003 almost 17 million.
A monthly analysis shows that the only month with a positive evolution in terms of admissions was June with a total of 918.051 million moviegoers. A figure justified by the release of large-audience films such as Sin City, Mr & Mrs Smith and Batman. This trend is expected to continue in July due to the release of War of the Worlds.
In the ranking of European (co)productions, Ridley Scott's kingdom of Heaven, co-produced by the Spanish company KanZaman, was the most popular of the European co-productions. Distributed on 265 screens, the film attracted 219.258 people, the equivalent of 970.539,30€. Breck Eisner's Sahara, another Spanish co-production, with Matthew McConaughey and Penélope Cruz, was shown on 204 screens. Its 127.604 moviegoers totalled 532.733,09€; while 56.144 people watched Alejandro Aménabar's Mar Adentro [+see also:
trailer
film profile]. Shown on 65 screens, the Oscar winner for best foreign film turned over 232.464,20€.

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