Cinemas in Malta and Gozo projected 330 film titles and registered a total of 165,475 admissions in 2020, a year which saw the theatres closed for a good chunk of it due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This meant there was a drop of 4.5 times in the number of cinema visitors in 2020, when compared to a year earlier.

The National Statistics Office said on Wednesday there were in 2020 seven cinema establishments with a total of 33 screens and a seating capacity of 2,262.

Of these, two were in Gozo.

A total of 18,733 screenings were exhibited, an average of 57 screenings per film. 

A year earlier, 409 films were projected in cinemas in Malta and Gozo, registering a total of 748,568 admissions with each movie showing, on average, 71 times. There were then 28 screens in six cinemas across Malta and Gozo.

2020 productions

Maltese productions, many of which belonged to the short film category, had 1,278 admissions with a total gross box office of €1,306 in 40 screenings. 

Foreign productions had 164,197 admissions with a total gross box office of €1,078,215 in 18,693 screenings. 

Admissions to digital 3D movies accounted for just 2% of the total.

The film titles included 216 fiction films. These attracted 87.1% of total admissions. There were 29 animation films, which attracted 10.6% of admissions. 

The most popular film titles were Jumanji: The Next Level, Bad Boys for Life and 1917 amounting to 7.7%, 6.3% and 5.2% of total admissions respectively. 

Cinemas last year employed an average of 102 people, 72.7% of whom on a part-time basis.