Belgian cinemas recorded a 13.55% increase in ticket sales in 2023, compared with 2022, said the Federation of Belgian Cinemas in a statement on Monday.
Nearly 17 million admissions were recorded last year, Belga News Agency reports. This figure was boosted by the releases of 'Oppenheimer' and 'Barbie', which sold 681,000 and 944,000 tickets respectively, but still falls short of the 19 to 22 million visitors recorded between 2012 and 2019, the pre-Covid period.
In addition to the releases of these blockbusters, 'Avatar' and 'Super Mario Bros', this increase can be explained by "investments" and "improvements in the services offered to spectators," according to the Federation.
However, the fourth quarter of 2023 was impacted by the strike by Hollywood actors and scriptwriters seeking better pay. For six months, filming was paralysed, leading to the postponement of film releases until 2025.
The final months of last year were characterised by a weaker performance from domestic films. "With just over 1.5 million spectators, Belgian films received 24.86% fewer visitors than in 2022, a year marked by the enormous success of 'Zillion'", explained the Federation.
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The top five Belgian films were all Dutch-language films in 2023, topped by 'Wil' with 201,000 admissions (16th in the overall ranking of films in the country). The first French-language film, 'Oups, j'ai raté l'Arche', came sixth in the Belgian film rankings and 54th overall.
With their more "specialised" programming, Art & Essai cinemas saw their visits increase by around 30% in 2023.
For the coming months, the Federation stated that it was looking forward "impatiently" to the releases of 'DUNE 2', 'Kung Fu Panda 4', 'The Fall Guy' and 'Bad Boys 4'.
