Cinema Ad Spend Rises As Kids Films Prove Successful
The latest Advertising Association survey of advertising expenditure has revealed an impressive performance by the cinema advertising industry, increasing ad spend by 23.1% following declines in the first two quarters of the year to become the fastest growing medium between July and September.
The increase is due mainly to a bumper crop of children’s films during the third quarter of 2004, with instalments of Shrek 2 and Spider-Man 2 contributing to an influx of younger film fans. As a result cinema adspend in the UK has now reached £40 million, according to the AA.
The increased adspend is an impressive achievement for the sector, however, the AA’s figures do not include those for expenditure on internet advertising, which has seen phenomenal growth in recent months and could dwarf cinema’s performance when figures are released next year.
Shrek 2 clocked up the largest box office takings during the third quarter of the year, raking in a mammoth £41.9 million. Spider-Man 2 snatched second place, securing takings of £25.4 million while Will Smith’s latest science fiction epic, I,Robot landed third place for the quarter with takings of £17.8 million.
The AA’s figures underline the expectations of the Cinema Advertising Association, which earlier this year predicted a record breaking 2004 with admissions of 180 million now looking likely before the new year.
Last month saw the CAA release admissions figures for October, revealing a strong performance by Dreamworks’ latest animated feature film, Shark Tale. The film grossed £19.6 million at the UK box office during October, replicating the success of another underwater adventure, Finding Nemo, in the same month a year earlier (see Shark Tale Takes Bite Of October Cinema Admissions).
Children’s films are set to perform well again in the last quarter of the year, with the typically child-friendly festive period providing ample entertainment for younger viewers. Releases such as The Incredibles, Lemony Snicket and The Polar Express are expected to prove popular amongst families in the run up to Christmas, while more adult offerings such as Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and Phantom of the Opera look set to draw adult audiences in their millions to the silver screen before the end of 2004.
Advertising Association: 020 7828 2771 www.adassoc.org.uk
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