Positive Growth For Cinema Attendance

Cinema admissions increased by 28% year-on-year in April, and the growth in advertising revenue was not far behind that, with a year-on-year increase of 18% taking it to £11.6 million.

Motors (£3.1 million), entertainment & media (£2 million) and telecoms (£1.8 million) lead the market, and the top three advertisers were BSkyB (£1.8 million), Orange (£1.1 million) and Honda (£1.1 million), according to figures released by Neilsen Media Research through the Cinema Advertising Association.

The increase in cinema attendance was attributed to the success of children’s animated movie Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, whose earnings of £26.1 million during April doubled the gross earnings of the original film.

The kiddie flick continued to perform well in May and currently holds the number one position at the box office for 2006 releases, although the summer blockbusters could see it sink without a trace, as Poseidon (a remake of the 1972 smash hit The Poseidon Adventure) sails across our screens.

Another humorous film to do well was Scary Movie 4, grossing £5.1 million in April and showing that slapstick comedy can still pull in the punters.

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