GOLDEN AGE

Receipts outside North America inch down

Films took in a record US$38.6bn last year despite a decline outside North America.

LOS ANGELES: The global box office for films took in a record $38.6 billion last year, industry figures showed on Wednesday, although receipts outside North America declined for the first time in 12 years.

The worldwide figure, bolstered by globestriding behemoths like Captain America: Civil War and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, marked a 1% rise from 2015, according to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

“The continued strength of the box office demonstrates that cinema remains the premier way to experience great storytelling for audiences around the world,” said Chris Dodd, head of the MPAA, a lobby group representing the six biggest studios.

“In the United States and Canada, there are key indicators that suggest the future may be even brighter, with increases in attendance among younger demographics and diverse communities, in particular.”

The MPAA’s annual Theatrical Market Statistics Report put the North American box office at $11.4 billion, a 2% improvement over 2015, with 246 million people seeing at least one movie in cinemas.

But foreign box offices totalled $27.2 billion, down slightly from $27.3 billion the prior year, thanks to a dramatic halt in box office growth in China, the association said in the report.

Ticket sales in the world’s second-biggest economy, which have been soaring for years — 49% in 2015, for example — dropped 1% to $6.6 billion in 2016.

Growth in China was held back by a variety of factors, including a crackdown on boxoffice fraud, fewer ticket subsidies, and consumers who are becoming more discerning.

Although the foreign decline appears small, it is the first since 2005 and will worry US studios increasingly relying on the burgeoning middle class in developing economies.

Non-North American box office revenues represented almost three-quarters of the total last year, compared with 63% a decade ago, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The MPAA noted that three of the top five grossing films drew a majority female audience in North America.

The total number of cinema screens worldwide increased by 8% in 2016 to nearly 164,000, due in large part to continued double-digit growth across the AsiaPacific region.

“The film industry continues to thrive because every facet of the industry — production, distribution, and exhibition — is relentlessly innovating to bring new stories to life on the big screen,” added Dodd, a former Democratic senator from Connecticut.

Other notable conclusions from the report include:

Younger moviegoers increased. The biggest jump was for 18- to 24-year-olds, who went on average 6.5 times in 2016, up from 5.9 times in 2015.

The appeal of 3D continued to slide. Sales of 3D movies fell about 8% to $1.6 billion, even though there were 30% more 3D releases.

African-American and Asian moviegoers continue to increase. Per capita, Asians/Other Ethnicities go more than any other group, seeing on average 6.1 movies a year.