In this period, China’s box office revenue grew by 731%. Russia had the next highest growth at 239%. In comparison, revenues in the United States grew just 7% and declined by 3% in the Republic of Korea.
While growth has been slow in the United States, it remains the leader in terms of revenue, taking in US$10.2 billion at the box office in 2011.
In comparison, China took in US$2.03 billion, overtaking India, which earned US$1.5 billion.
In 2011, BRIC countries (Brazil, the Russian Federation, India and China) accounted for 22% of the global box office, with US$5.4 billion in revenue, and 50% of global admissions, with 3.6 billion tickets sold.
India continued to lead global film production with 1,255 films produced for theatrical release in 2011, followed by the United States with 819 movies. Nigeria, with 997 productions, is still a big player, but films are largely released on video for private consumption.
The digitization of infrastructure is growing, mainly in Europe and the United States, where the conversion of cinema equipment to digital formats is expected to be complete before the end of this decade.
Other regions have been slow to adopt costly digital technologies. For example in Latin America, digital cinemas are concentrated in Brazil and Mexico, which hold three-quarters of all digital screens in the region.
Film production technology is also increasingly digitized. Since Avatar’s global success, more and more Hollywood blockbusters are produced in 3D. In 2011, one-half of the global Top 10 films -- the most popular movies in the world -- were screened in this format.
The UIS Data Centre has been updated to include the results of the UIS survey on the global cinema industry for the year ending in 2011, including key indicators designed to help measure diversity in film production.
Historical data from 1995 to 1999 are also available in separate tables for fewer indicators.
To consult the new data, readers can build their own custom tables in the UIS Data Centre.
Additional resources:
Read the report: Emerging Markets and the Digitization of the Film Industry: an analysis of the 2012 UIS international survey of feature film statistics
Indicators / data now available:
The Data Centre also includes updated statistics from 2010 to 2011 on cinema infrastructure, film production and distribution, and exhibition. Historical data from 1995 to 1999 are available in separate tables for fewer indicators and data.