Average annual cinema spending per head population in the United Kingdom 2000-2022

In 2022, a person in the United Kingdom spent, on average, 13.36 British pounds on moviegoing, up from 8.16 pounds a year earlier. Despite the growth, the 2022 figure still amounted to less than the 18.72-pound average recorded in 2019, before the pandemic.

Box office gross and attendance decline

The slow recovery of average spending follows the pattern set by the segment's key indicators. The UK's box office revenue grew considerably in 2022, yet the value (902 million pounds) was still under pre-pandemic figures, which surpassed 1.2 billion pounds since 2015. Similarly, cinema attendance in the UK increased that year, but fell behind half of the more than 170 million movie tickets sold annually before the coronavirus outbreak.

Ticket prices and the number of screens rise

Meanwhile, the British cinema market continued to pursue expansion. The average cost of a movie ticket in the UK reached an all-time high in 2022: 7.69 pounds. And, despite a slight annual decrease, the number of movie theaters operating in the UK in 2022 rose compared to 2019.