Swiss cinemas are full again, but attendance is still below pre-pandemic levels

Swiss cinemas registered more than 10 million visitors in 2023. The value is still below that of 2019, the last year before the corona pandemic, but only by 16 percent.

Based on the provisional figures for 2023, the Federal Statistical Office (BFS) determines a recovery trend. Compared to 2022, the number of cinema visits has increased by 20 percent, according to a press release.

Last year, for the first time, 436 films were shown in cinemas, compared to 449 in 2022. According to Procinema, the umbrella organization of Swiss film and film distribution companies, the American film ‘Barbie’ from Warner Bros. the most popular in cinema. cinemas last year in German-speaking Switzerland with approximately 480,000 entries, ahead of Disney’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” with approximately 421,000 entries and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” from Universal with approximately 362,000 entries.

The most successful Swiss film was “Bon Schuur Ticino” with Beat Schlatter with approximately 97,000 visitors, ahead of “The Neighbors from Above” by Sabine Boss with approximately 70,000 visitors and “The Undertaker – the Film” with Mike Müller with 67,000 entries.

According to the BFS, more European films were shown in Swiss cinemas in 2023 (48 percent) than American films (24 percent) and those from the rest of the world (28 percent). Although in the minority, films produced in the United States accounted for 60 percent of all screenings and 68 percent of all theater attendance.

Swiss films had a market share of 6 percent in 2023. According to the BFS, this is 1 percentage point more than in 2022. (pre/sda)