The Policy Studies Institute has today released Cultural Trends 10, which includes reports on cinema, film and home video.
The survey recognises the major trends in the UK cinema industry, over the past ten years, as being the rise in cinema admissions and the growth of multiplex cinemas.
The opening of new multiplexes, venues with 5 or more screens, peaked in 1989, when 15 new sites were opened by adding an extra 137 screens. This rate of increase has tailed off only slightly in the last two years.
|
No Sites/ |
Total No |
Seating |
|
Complexes |
Screens |
Capacity |
|
|
|
‘000 |
| 1980 |
942 |
1,562 |
688 |
| 1982 |
803 |
1,432 |
568 |
| 1983 |
707 |
1,293 |
505 |
| 1984 |
660 |
1,226 |
459 |
| 1988 |
642 |
1,284 |
440 |
| 1991 |
656 |
1,634 |
490 |
Source: Business Monitor MA2; CAA; Screen Digest; BFI
The Cultural Trends report suggests that this upgrading of cinema facilities is one of the reasons for the upturn in cinema admissions. The popularity of the product has also played an important role, with films such as Silence of the Lambs breaking box office records.
The first six months of 1991 saw attendances up by 11.6% on the same period in 1990. It is predicted that this trend will continue for the rest of the year.
The report uses the latest CAVIAR data, to suggest that the rise in admissions is a result of existing attenders going more frequently, rather than non- attenders starting to attend. The growth of cinema audiences has run parallel with the expansion of home video. It is suggested in Cultural Trends 10 that this is more than just a coincidence.
Rather than video acting as a substitute to cinema-going it has revived an interest in films. CAVIAR findings for 1990 suggest that hirers of home videos are twice as likely to attend the cinema two or more times a month than the general population.
The recent boom in the home video market appears to be levelling off with a slight decline in comsumer expenditure last year.
|
Pre-recorded |
Video Casettes |
|
(Millions |
of Units) |
|
Rentals |
Purchases |
|
|
|
| 1985 |
270 |
1 |
| 1986 |
295 |
3 |
| 1987 |
322 |
12 |
| 1988 |
348 |
19 |
| 1989 |
396 |
38 |
| 1990 |
374 |
40 |
Source: British Videogram Association
One of the reasons for the fall in tapes rented may be the take up of satellite movie channels. A survey commissioned by Satellite TV Financefound that subscribers to the film channels rented fewer videos after they had taken up their subscription, and also visited the cinema less frequently.
It has also been suggested that the sell-through market may be eating into the rental market, as the purchase price of pre-recorded videos has lowered.
A full copy of Cultural Trends 10 is available from the Policy Studies Institute (£12.95).
PSI: 071-387 2171
