Flimsy appetite for movies

Movie theatre occupancy still modest, 2.8 million tickets sold in 2010

June 22, 2011- Statistics for the activity of movie theatres in 2010 showed that the occupancy rate hovered at around 3.4 percent, according to a report published by a local daily.

Figures released by Al Akhbar showed that only 2.8 million tickets were sold in 2010 out of an aggregate capacity reaching 82 million viewers per year.

Movie ticket prices range between L.L.10,000 and L.L.15,000 and three major companies control the bulk of movie visitors, Empire, Grand Cinemas, and Planète. Empire theatres accounted for 55 percent of the total number of tickets sold in 2010. It sold 1.5 million tickets, an 18 percent increase from 2009. Empire’s occupancy rate was 20 percent. It operates 33 theatres, comprising 6,283 seats.

Grand Cinemas came in second, accounting for 32 percent of the total tickets sold in 2010. Grand Cinemas sold 920,000 tickets last year, an increase of 17 percent from 2009. The occupancy rate stood at 27 percent. Grand Cinemas operates 19 screens with a total number of 4,029 seats.

Planète cinemas sold 253,000 tickets in 2010, a decline of 16 percent from 2009. Planète’s sales accounted for 9 percent of the total number of tickets sold, and attained an occupancy rate of 5.25 percent. Planète operates 23 theatres with a total of 4,207 seats. Other chains including Stargate, Kaslik, and Aresco accounted for 6.3 percent of the market, with a total of 113,000 tickets sold in 2010, a 10 percent increase from the 2009 sales.