The Film Distributors’ Association (FDA) represents the interests of film distributors in the UK and Ireland. Its membership ranges from Hollywood studios to independent operators and is responsible for 99% of all films released theatrically in the territory.
Cinema admissions in the UK and Ireland totalled 135.1m in 2023 (vs. 127.7m in 2022).
The territory’s leading cinema advertising agencies, Digital Cinema Media and Pearl & Dean, reported a 6% cinemagoing increase in 2023 despite market disruptions caused by film industry strike action and the ongoing cost-of-living pressures on UK and Irish households. Whilst still some way shy of the pre-pandemic cinema footfall highs seen in both 2018 and 2019 (190m+ admissions each year), the sector remains on a continuing upward trajectory.
A record 1,013 new releases arrived in cinemas in 2023 (vs. 929 in 2022). Highlights included no.1 film Barbie; historical dramas Oppenheimer and Napoleon; animations The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; musicals Wonka and The Little Mermaid; franchise returns with John Wick: Chapter 4 and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One; and international features Anatomy of a Fall and Past Lives.
The ongoing sector recovery experienced in 2023 looks set to continue across 2024 with an equally broad range of titles on offer. The year is already off to a great start with substantial numbers of cinemagoers seeking out all the big screen experience has to offer.
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