Billboard Murcia I The movie business in the Region of Murcia works much better than you think

He cinema in Spain it is raising its head. That assistance to the rooms It has not gone through its best moment for a few years is evidence. However, the exhibitors can celebrate that chain two consecutive years with an increase of 45%. The perception in the Region of Murcia is that the stalls of the community are among those that attract fewer spectators in the country as a whole, but the data offered by the Federation of Spanish Cinemas (FECE) shows a different reality.

It is true, according to the report made public with the figures for 2022, that those that register a largest number of consumers They are Madrid, Catalonia and Navarra, although the population that resides in them must be taken into account. Throughout the year, the capital accumulated more than 12.3 million viewers, that is, people from Madrid went to the cinema an average of 1.83 times; in the case of Catalonia, more than 11.4 million were registered, with an average of 1.47; for its part, in Navarra there were 935,436 spectators (1.41 times on average per year).

The podium is followed by the Valencian Community (with an average of 1.36) and only one place behind is the Region of Murcia. Up to 1,971,710 people went to see movies on the big screen in 2022, with an average of 1.29 visits per year. On the contrary, the least visited theaters were Castilla-La Mancha (0.37), Extremadura (0.76) and Asturias (0.93).

Conclusion: the Murcian population is trapped by the billboard, and it is the fourth who most chooses to spend their leisure time in the cinemagiven that in order to produce these visit data, a relationship is made between the number of attendees and the number of inhabitants.

Box office collection

The Murcian community cannot complain about the collection, which reached 11,155,117 euros, the ninth highest in Spain. Ahead, the data is predictable: Madrid is in the lead with almost 85.5 million euros, followed by Catalonia (76.4 million), Andalusia (54.1), Valencian Community (42.1), Basque Country (16.8), Galicia (15.4), Castilla y León (14.3) and the Canary Islands (13.3). Extremadura, Cantabria and La Rioja were below five million. In fact, the latter narrowly surpassed both.

In view of these figures, it is also important to know how many screens per million inhabitants each autonomous community has. coincidentally in this ranking La Rioja stands out, with 137 (44 in absolute figures), and Navarra, with 62 screens and an average of 93. In the case of the Region of Murcia they are 122 screensOr what is the same, 77 average.

Ranking of communities by viewers

According to the FECE X-ray, the balance is more than positive. In general, the rooms closed their financial year with a box office that reached 379 million euros, 49% more than the previous period; At the same time, the number of viewers grew by 45%, reaching 61.2 million. The exhibitors chain, therefore, two consecutive years of upward attendance. A progressive recovery, given that still the bad figures on average are maintained when compared to the periods prior to the pandemic. They would still need 40% more to match the attendance then.

Although MILESTONES have been recorded that have not been seen since that time:

• The10 most viewed movies of the year They all exceed the barrier of 10 million euros in collection
• Avatar: The Sense of Water, best international premiere since April 26, 2019
• Father there is only one 3, best premiere of a Spanish film since November 23, 2018 (Santiago Segura, to the rescue)
• full seats: 620,000 viewers on December 28, record attendance in a single day since 2019

The damage of platform ‘strategies’

The permanence of movies on billboards It represents a big problem for the recovery of the sector, something in which the platforms have a lot to do. It is not just that some titles are withdrawn earlier to enter the catalog early streamingbut there are even some with simultaneous releases in rooms and on platform. It is worth remembering the great controversy that in 2019 faced Scarlett Johansson with Disney by black widow (Marvel).

The actress sued the company because they had agreed to launch it in a big way in theaters, on a minimum of 1,500 screens, where it would remain exclusively for a period of between 90 and 120 days. However, in the United States, to their surprise, the premiere was made simultaneously, and in Disney+ had an additional cost of 30 dollars. “They have used the film to increase their number of subscribers and their share price,” the lawsuit stated.

the protagonist of lost in translation claimed that box office income had decreaseda criticism that was joined by the National Association of Theater Owners (National Association of Theater Owners), which pointed out that Marvel films in recent years had always reached 1,000 million dollars worldwide.

Much more pronounced with the ‘majors’

In Spain, before the pandemic feature films were not withdrawn from theaters until a minimum of 112 days had passed since its premiere. In 2022, the launches that do not meet that period have multiplied by six, and it is a much more pronounced problem when the companies are behind. majors.

Despite all this, FECE, which represents more than 80% of theater businessmen, is optimistic based on different surveys, and understands that 2023 is called to be “the year of public recovery”. To this optimism that also includes the Region of Murcia Added to this is the large income expected in the community by the audiovisual industry thanks to the attraction of filming with the Film Commission.