The amount Romanians spent last year in movie theaters increased by 25%, surpassing 2019's record level

The Romanians spent last year 63 million euro in movie theatres, a sum 25% higher than that of 2022, as the ticket price increased  by 8.2% according to the data of the National Centre of Cinematography, analysed by the real estate consultancy company Cushman&Wakefield Echinox.In 2023, the movie theatres in Romania had 13,02 million spectators up by 16% against 2022 and slightly under the level of 2019, when there were 13.1 million, says the press release of the company sent on Wednesday.From the point of view of total receipts, the movie theatres operators reported increase of 25% against 2022, namely 308,8 million lei (almost 56 million euro) registered in 2019. During the period under the analysis, the average price of a ticket increased from 20 lei in 2019 to 21.9 lei in 2022 and 23.7 lei in 2023. Romania had at the end of last year 103 movie theatres at national level, against 95 in 2022.The figures include both movie theatres with one screen and those with several screens, the latter being over 96% of the receipts and 94% of the number of spectators. The frequency of the visits per inhabitant has increased in 2023 at 0.68 from 0.59 in 2022, reaching the level of 2019. The biggest movie theatres market in Romania are Bucuresti (4,132,145 spectators in 2023), Cluj-Napoca (857.806), Timi?oara (811.978), Constan?a (736.424) and Bra?ov (625.608), which concentrate over half (55%) of the demand.   "The evolution of the cinema market is even more impressive considering that 2023 was marked by record inflation, which reduced Romanians' spending budget and tempered the pace of revenue growth for retailers and shopping center owners. The falling inflation, already visible in the dynamics of retail sales, but also the increase in the supply of multiplex theaters through the development of new shopping centers or the expansion of existing ones will have a positive impact on the cinema market in the coming period," said Dana Radoveneanu, head of Retail Agency, Cushman & Wakefield Echinox, quoted in the press release. As for the cities with the highest frequency of visits in relation to the number of inhabitants in the county in 2023, Brasov (2.37 visits per inhabitant in 2023), Bucharest (1.82), Braila (1.54), Cluj (1.26), Timis (1.24), Iasi (1.21) and Constanta (1.12) are in the top positions. The cities with the highest utilization rate of the existing cinema infrastructure are Ia?i (1.44 spectators/room/day), Vrancea (0.95 spectators/room/day), Dolj (0.83 spectators/day), Bihor (0.78 spectators/day), followed by Alba (0.72 spectators/room/day) and Bra?ov (0.67 spectators/room/day). In Bucharest the rate of cinema utilization was 0.46 spectators/room/day. Cushman & Wakefield Echinox, the independently owned and operated exclusive affiliate of Cushman & Wakefield in Romania, comprises a team of over 80 professionals and associates, offering a full range of services to investors, developers, owners and tenants.   Cushman & Wakefield is a global leader in commercial real estate services, with 52,000 employees in nearly 400 offices and more than 60 countries and revenues of $9.5 billion. The company's core services include asset and investment management consulting, capital markets, leasing, property management, tenant representation, project services and valuation.