UK cinema admissions for January 2005 were down by 12.4% year on year standing at 13.4 million, an average of 3 million admissions a week, according to research released by the Cinema Advertising Association (CAA).
The CAA explains that the loss in admission figures is due to the extraordinary success of
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The film was released in late December 2003 and therefore impacts on year on year comparisons for Janurary 2005.
Meet the Fockers took first place in the January box office, taking £8.6 million, despite being released at the end of the month. Supernatural thriller White Noise followed in second place, bringing in £6.1 million. Third place went to The Aviator, which secured 5.9 million at the box office in January.
Despite a slow start to the year, cinema advertising is predicted to enjoy a strong performance in 2005, following the 6.6% increase in revenue enjoyed in 2004. The cinema industry as a whole continues to go from strength to strength with a 4% increase in total UK admissions last year.
At the beginning of the year, the Advertising Association (AA) forecasts that cinema advertising expenditure would see a 4.8% increase in 2005 (see UK Adspend Forecast To Rise By 4.2% In 2005).
This upward trend is good news for advertisers, with research from Starcom UK showing that the cinema industry has more consumer contact points, giving advertisers a powerful consumer engagement opportunity (see Cinema Growth Good News For Advertisers).
The CAA forecasts that February will perform strongly in terms of box office admissions, with a strong half-term childrens line up, including The Spongebob Squarepants Movie, Racing Stripes and The Magic Roundabout likely to attract large audiences.
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