Cinemas still popular as $12 beers become the norm in cost-of-living crisis (2024)

The cost-of-living crisis, an unending flow of streaming services and the fallout of the US writers' strike sound like the making of a nightmare 2024 for Australian cinemas.

But the peak body for cinema operators, Cinema Association Australasia, believes the allure of the silver screen has strengthened in today's tough times.

"The average ticket price in Australia is $16 to $17," executive director Cameron Mitchell said.

"[At] some bars now it's $12, $15 for a beer or a glass of wine.

"If you look at historical trends in other sort of recessionary times, cinema has always done incredibly well."

Sun Cinemas owner Michael Smith said his venues in Victoria and Tasmania were getting "busier and busier".

"We saw it back in 2008," he said.

"It does seem that when money's tight, little luxuries still matter."

In 2023 the Australian box office raked in $985.1 million off the back of $940.6m in 2022, according to Screen Australia.

Mr Mitchell attributes that success to cinemas consistently being fed high-quality films and blockbusters, including Barbie, Oppenheimer and Taylor Swift's Eras concert film.

'Incredibly strong'

Mansfield Armchair Cinema (MAC) co-manager Karen Oliver said people needed "something extraordinary" to leave the house and visit the two-screen cinema in the foothills of the Victorian Alps.

"We've got Deadpool & Wolverine now and It Ends with Us, and that's filling the seats," she said.

"But as soon as there's a lean number of good movies, we are struggling."

Fewer films than average have been released this year due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, which ran for 148 days and impacted a long list of movie and television productions.

Despite that, Mr Mitchell said the second half of 2024 was looking "incredibly strong" for box office returns.

Highly-anticipated upcoming releases include the film adaptation of Broadway musical, Wicked, and Joker: Folie à Deux, the sequel to 2019's Oscar-winning Joker.

"I think even with less films this year we're going to end up in line with last year," Mr Mitchell said.

Toll on theatres

Box office returns are trending up, but the same cannot be said for the number of movie theatres in Australia.

The latest figures from Screen Australia show there are nowt 460 cinemas nationwide, a drop of 32 cinemas from 2022 and 41 from 2021.

In June Regent Cinemas Ballarat closed after almost a century.

Cinemas still operating generally have more screens than decades past — in 1980, there were 713 movie theatres with a total 829 screens.

Now there are about 2,300 screens in Australian theatres.

Evolving to offer cinema-goers experiences to complement the on-screen movie magic is important to survival.

Ms Oliver said recent initiatives run by the MAC include themed nights and special premiere events for members.

Other examples of enticing extras at cinemas across Victoria include leather lounges, co*cktail bars, cafes, and on-demand food from a specialty menu.

At one cinema in Melbourne's inner-suburbs there is a jazz room and a rooftop cinema.

Push for support

To keep the good times rolling into the future, Mr Mitchell has encouraged all levels of government to support cinema operators with dedicated funding to help with often costly upgrades.

Mr Mitchell explained that many cinemas were converting projectors from digital to laser at a cost – without subsidisation – of about $200,000 per unit.

"The advantage to the consumer is it's a much better image on screen — it's much brighter and much crisper," he said.

"People won't come to the cinema if they don't think there's going to be an amazing seat, amazing sound, amazing on-screen image."

Mr Smith said the federal government's multi-million-dollar support for Australian film-making needed to be expanded to include cinema operators.

"We allocate an enormous amount of government funding to Australian films to be made, but not necessarily to make sure they're seen," he said.

"And that's a crying shame."

Ms Oliver said targeted funding could help bring to life plans for an additional screen inside the MAC, along with an outdoor screen that could be used in the warmer months.

"Everyone enjoys that, and you can have a picnic," she said.

"That's what we're hoping for."

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Communications and the Arts said the federal government recognised the "important role" cinemas played in sharing Australian stories on the big screen.

"The Australian government provides significant support for the creation of content for theatrical release through film tax offsets and direct funding through Screen Australia," the spokesperson said.