The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC), the industry group representing the interests of European cinema trade associations and operators across 39 territories, issued a rallying call last week for all European and global cinema industry stakeholders to support the sector as its strong recovery from the impacts of COVID accelerates into 2022. Their statement read, in part:

Having faced the unprecedented challenges of the COVID pandemic, 2021 saw cinemas across the globe move swiftly along the road to recovery, with all signs suggesting that 2022 will be a pivotal year for the industry.

Across Europe in particular, last year saw significant gains on 2020 box office revenues as cinema audiences flocked back to an exciting and diverse slate of new releases.

Leading industry analysts Gower Street Analytics estimate that 2021 box office for the EMEA region was, at $4.4 billion, 45 percent higher than 2020. Underpinning that strong performance, UK and Ireland (+85 per cent), Russia (+78 per cent), Portugal (+50 per cent), France (+47 per cent), Spain (+45 per cent) and Germany (+26 per cent) all recorded significant box office growth, this despite experiencing months of closure during the year… (Continue reading on CJ Wire.)