Cinema Admissions Weaken In March
Cinema admissions reached 10.4 million in March, a 27% year on year decrease on the same period in 2002, according to the latest figures from the Cinema Advertising Association (CAA).
Admissions for the first quarter of 2003 reached 42 million, a 14% drop on the same period last year. However, the CAA still considers cinema admissions to be on course to reach a total of 182 million for the year, due to the influx of big budget sequels over the summer months.
Despite the first quarter decline, March still managed some big box office draws, with romantic comedy, Maid In Manhattan, achieving the fifth highest box office opening of the year. The massive amount of publicity surrounding the film’s star, Jennifer Lopez, ensured it topped the box office in March with £7 million.
The remake of the 1998 Japanese horror film, The Ring, was the next highest grossing film in March, taking £5.4 million during the month. The horror film is now the seventh biggest film of the year, after taking £9.5 million at the box office so far.
MTV spin-off, Jackass: The Movie, also proved popular with audiences, taking £3.4 million in March. The CAA points to the success of the film, in which a group of men carry out hair brained stunts and tricks, as evidence of the diversity of films released in 2003.
Despite the disappointing start to the year, the CAA is confident that admissions will increase over the coming months. According to the president of the CAA, Debbie Chalet: “We are confident that we will deliver excellent value to our advertisers, with a huge variety of films still to come in 2003, including X Men 2, two Matrix sequels, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and Terminator 3.”
2003 is shaping up to be the summer of the sequel and big budget marketing campaigns and merchandising spin-offs look set to accompany the launch of X Men 2. Twentieth Century Fox will also be launching its first ever video email campaign to promote the film (see Online Evolves With Major Video Email Campaign).
CAA: 0207 534 6363
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