downland a chapter from the 1st edition
downland a chapter from the 2d edition


The European cinema market never stands still. The interactions of cinema provision, appeal of current releases, control of distribution, ticket pricing and marketing produce a complex outcome that is not always easy to monitor, still less to interpret reliably. Now Screen Digest brings you the one tool you need to chart a course through Cinema Exhibition and Distribution in Europe. Detailed data sets for 19 European territories, going back 10 years - with forecasts for screen counts, admissions and box office - form the statistical base of the report, with the accuracy, consistency and clarity you have come to expect from Screen Digest.

Key trends in European exhibition and distribution sectors are analysed in individual markets and Europe as a whole. The report looks at the successes and danger signs, with latest updates on digital cinema, recent events and thorough analysis of the film distribution sector. There is a detailed presentation of the international perspective of leading circuits and a full set of sector contacts, as well as a full presentation of screen and site counts by circuit.

This unique report combines in a single book of over 450 pages all the data you need, analysis based on expert experience and clear insight, and a breadth of vision that takes in not only core exhibition and distribution, but screen advertising, digital cinema and a financial analysis of companies in the European cinema sector.

Key issues raised and analysed:

• How much can screen growth push admissions growth?
• Has the cinema building programme been overoptimistic and gone too far?
• Can the past decade's upward trend in admissions be sustained? What happens when the market flattens?
• Which companies are active in cinema exhibition across the whole of Europe?
• Cinema branding and consumer appeal (loyalty cards, etc) building market share
• How much do blockbusters drive the market?
• Is the focus on short-term economics based on blockbuster releases harmful to the longer term survival of the cinema?
• Can the increase in local film production be carried through into the longer term exhibition market?
• Is the market narrowing too much towards the younger segment?
• What proportion of European screens are currently controlled by non-European companies?
• What are the key content sources for leading distributors across Europe?
• How much revenue did US, local and other films generate over a 10 year period in 19 European territories?
• Who controls screen advertising in Europe?
• What are the prospects for European e-cinema?

The second edition of the Cinema Exhibition and Distribution in Europe comprises detailed data-sets for 16 western European and 3 eastern European markets. 10 Years of historical data and five years of forecasted data is provided for cinema admissions, box-office receipts and screen counts. The report is more than 350 pages long and contains more than 600 charts and tables.

To help give a complete picture of the cinema industry over the past two decades, Screen Digest will include a copy of the first edition (390 pages), which contains detailed trend analysis, commentary and expert advice from Screen Digest Analysts. Screen Digest has been following the global cinema market for more than 30 years and has built a reputation for accuracy and objectivity in the cinema industry.


Key Points:

• Box office in Europe will reach €7.4bn in 2007, up from €5.7bn in 2002. This represents a growth rate of 29.8 per cent.
• Admissions in the European Union will hit 1bn in 2005, rising from 910m in 2002. The rise in box office revenues of 33 per cent is even higher than the growth rate of 20 per cent in admissions over the period, due to a cumulative rise in ticket prices over that period.
• The number of screens in Europe will rise from 29,067 in 2002 to 31,593 in 2007, of which 89.4 per cent will be in the European Union. While smaller territories still have significant room for screen growth, the overall European growth rate for screens will reach only 8.6 per cent between 2002 and 2007.
• Multiplex screens will play a key role in European screen growth over the next five years and there is still considerable room for growth in several European territories. In Denmark, an average of 30.2 per cent of screens are in multiplex sites and this is forecast to rise to 36.2 per cent by 2007. At the high end of the scale, 66.4 per cent of screens in the UK were housed in multiplex sites in 2002. The proportion of screens housed in multiplex sites in Eastern Europe is set to rise from 25 per cent in 2002 to 33.3 per cent in 2007.
• Exhibition concentration levels vary markedly across Europe. In UK, 64 per cent of screens are owned and operated by the leading five circuits. For France, the leading five circuits account for 34 per cent of the total screen base. In the Czech Republic, where multiplex exhibition is relatively new, the leading five circuits account for only 13 per cent of the overall screen count.

Table of contents

1 European statistical overview
Demographics: population

Exhibition
Cinema sites
Cinema screens
Cinema seats
Multiplex sites
Multiplex screens
Proportion of multiplex sites
Proportion of multiplex screens
Average screens per site
Average seats per screen
Cinema admissions
Cinema admissions per head
Gross box office (graphics)
Gross box office (local)
Gross box office (Euro)
Gross box office (US $)
Box office revenue per head
Box office revenue per head (local currency)
Box office revenue per head (Euro)
Box office revenue per head (US$)
Average ticket price
Average ticket price (local)
Average ticket price (Euro)
Average ticket price (US$)
Change in cinema admissions
Change in cinema box office revenue
Change in admissions and box office revenue
Change in number of screens
Change in average ticket price
Change in screens and average ticket price
Average revenue per screen
Average revenue per screen (local)
Average revenue per screen (Euro)
Average revenue per screen (US$)
Average admissions per screen
Screens per million people

Distribution
Active distributors
Average releases per distributor
Total first-run film releases
Domestic first-run releases
US first-run releases
Other first-run releases
Proportion of domestic first-run film releases
Proportion of US first-run film releases
Box office revenue for domestic and US film releases
Box office revenue for other films
Market share of domestic films
Market share of US films
Market share of other films
Box office share of leading 10 films
Market share of leading five distributors
Distributor revenues
Distributor revenues (local currency)
Distributor revenues (Euro)
Distributor revenues (US$)
Distributor revenue growth
Distributor revenue growth

Forecasts
Cinema screens 1992-2007 (chart)
Cinema screens forecast 2002-2007 (table)
Multiplex screens 1992-2007 (chart)
Multiplex screens forecast 2002-2007 (table)
Non-multiplex screens 1992-2007 (chart)
Non-multiplex screens forecast 2002-2007 (table)
Multiplex screens as a proportion of all screens 1992-2007 (chart)
Multiplex screens as a proportion of all screens forecast 2002-2007 (table)
Cinema admissions 1992-2007 (chart)
Cinema admissions forecast 2002-2007 (table)
Gross box office revenue 1992-2007 (chart)
Gross box office revenue forecast (local currency) 2002-2007 (table)
Gross box office revenue forecast (Euros) 2002-2007 (table)
Gross box office revenue forecast (US$) 2002-2007 (table)
Average ticket price 1992-2007 (chart)
Average ticket price forecast (local currency) 2002-2007 (table)
Average ticket price forecast (Euros) 2002-2007 (table)
Average ticket price forecast (US$) 2002-2007 (table)
Average admissions per screen 1992-2007 (chart)
Average admissions per screen forecast 2002-2007 (table)
Average admissions per head 1992-2007 (chart)
Average admissions per head forecast 2002-2007 (table)
Average box office revenue per head 1992-2007 (chart)
Average box office revenue per head forecast (local currency) 2002-2007 (table)
Average box office revenue per head forecast (Euros) 2002-2007 (table)
Average box office revenue per head forecast (US$) 2002-2007 (table)
Average box office revenue per screen 1992-2007 (chart)
Average box office revenue per screen forecast (local currency) 2002-2007 (table)
Average box office revenue per screen forecast (Euros) 2002-2007 (table)
Average box office revenue per screen forecast (US$) 2002-2007 (table)


2 International perspective

Distribution
Number of active distributors
Leading distributors in the key European territories
Leading distributors matrix
European distribution networks of the US majors
European distribution market shares of US major distribution operations
Local vs majors' market share
Number of prints for initial release
Programme changeover day
Number of prints used for major release
Number of prints used for niche release

Exhibition

Leading European cinema circuits by country
European cinema circuits (ranking)
International circuits with a European presence
Screen concentration in Europe
Screen concentration in Europe-leading circuit's market share
Screen concentration in Europe-leading three circuits' market share
Screen concentration in Europe-leading five circuits' market share
Top 20 largest circuits-analysis
Top 100 largest circuits-analysis
Europe's Top 20 circuits: number of screens by country
Europe's Top 100 circuits: number of screens by country
European cinema circuit concentration curve
Capacity for future development
Estimated size of catchment area population required for cinema site
Population required in catchment area for 10-screen cinema site
Population required in catchment area for 30-screen cinema site
Cross-border analysis of exhibition market concentration
European cinema circuits-ranked by sites
European cinema circuits-ranked by screens
European cinema circuits-ranked by screens per site
Company origin behind pan-European circuits
Breakdown of cinema sites by number of screens per site-single-screen sites
Breakdown of cinema sites by number of screens per site-sites with 2-4 screens
Breakdown of cinema sites by number of screens per site-sites with 5-9 screens
Breakdown of cinema sites by number of screens per site-sites with 10 or more screens
Screen breakdown by territory


3 Territory profiles

Austria
Belgium
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
UK

for each country

Decade of change 2002 v 1992
Cinema in 2002 at a glance
Market split
Breakdown of screens by size of complex
Leading exhibition circuits
Urban agglomerations with 100,000+ inhabitants
Catchment area demographics
Urban:rural population split
Cinema sites and screens of leading exhibitors
Distributor market shares
Distribution snapshot
Leading theatrical distributors
Releases and box office shares of leading distributors
Cinema exhibition and distribution 1992-2002
Cinema admissions and box office revenue
Average annual admissions per head
Average ticket price
Cinema sites
Cinema screens
Feature film releases by origin
Box office revenue by origin of film
Share of box office revenue taken by top 10 films
Market split between US majors and local distributors
Market concentration indicators
Forecasts