Cinema Admissions Up By 11% In February

February was a strong month for UK cinema, with admissions reaching over 14.8 million and weekly admissions averaging 3.70 million, a 11% increase year on year, according to the latest data released by the Cinema Advertising Association (CAA).

Comedy flick,Meet the Fockers, enjoyed a strong performance during February, grossing £17.5 million and hitting over £26 million since its release in January. The film nearly doubled its impressive January launch takings, keeping a clear distance ahead of its nearest competitor Ocean’s Twelve, by £6 million.

A bevy of Hollywood actors reunited for Ocean’s Twelve, the month’s second most popular film, with box office takings of £11.5 million. However, the sequel to the popular remake of Ocean’s Eleven still could not shift the audience’s preference for comedy.

In third place, and topping the list of school holiday-released films, was Warner Brothers’ Racing Stripes. The film took in £5.23 million at the box office, mixing real-life characters with talking animals to appeal to families and younger audience members.

The American film narrowly beat the much hyped The Magic Roundabout, despite being released one week earlier. With voices provided by Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams and Sir Ian McKellen amongst others. The film also reached £5.2 million during February but was just under £10,000 shy of being the school holiday favourite.

The Spongebob Squarepants Movie earned a total of £4.8 million in February, with the voices of Scarlett Johansson and Alec Baldwin, plus a guest appearance by David Hasslehoff, adding to the film’s universal appeal for kids of all ages.

February also enjoyed a 39.4% increase in year on year advertising spend, reaching £12.1 million. The top three advertisers in terms of spend were Orange at £1.1 million with their out-of-reel sponsorship, followed by car makers Vauxhall, at £746,000. Volkswagen UK was the third largest spender, splashing out £582,000 during the month.

March could see Meet the Fockers continue its success, but competition from Will Smith’s Hitch may see a new comedy take the lead. Animated features Robots and Valiant will appeal to younger audience members in March, with a mixture of dramatic films such as Hotel Rwanda, Hostage and Constantine targeting the older viewers.

Looking ahead to April, a few of Hollywood’s most anticipated blockbusters are set to make an appearance, with John Tavolta and Uma Thurman reunited for Be Cool, the follow up to Get Shorty. While Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz pair up in Sahara.

CAA: 020 7534 6363

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