Box office sales fall as young shun cinema

Falling numbers of young people going on traditional cinema dates are linked with dramatic fall-off in Irish box offices sales.

The easy access to movies on tablets and smartphones are thought to have played a part in movie attendances in Ireland plummeting by over a fifth in the last seven years, with 4m fewer tickets sold in the country’s cinemas last year compared to 2007.

New figures also reveal that annual box office revenue has fallen by over €20m since the height of the boom in 2007.

While movie-mad Irish people went to the cinema over four times a year per head of population it has now dropped to three visits.

Figures from global analysts, IHS Technology, also show people are spending an average of just over €21 a year per capita on cinema visits, compared to just over €28 during the Celtic Tiger years.

Principal cinema analyst with IHS Charlotte Jones said the dropoff in sales of movie tickets is partially blamed on falling numbers of young people going on traditional cinema outings.

She said: “There is a general trend for the younger demographic moving away from traditional media and linked to the rise in tablets and smartphones.

“In 2014, there were 14.3m admissions to cinemas in Ireland compared with 18.3m back in 2007.”

Ms Jones said traditional cinema-going countries across the US and Europe are seeing a decline in their youth audience.

She said that the beginning of the decline in Irish tickets sales from record highs a decade ago can be traced back to the economic crash.

“The decline can also be traced back to the financial crisis in 2008, as Ireland was one of the worst- hit countries,” said Ms Jones.