Cinema admissions and key events, 1975 to present
Select the thumbnail (left) to go to the main diagram
|
Year
|
Admissions
(m)1
|
Population
(m)
|
Admissions
per capita
|
| In 1975, colour television
was introduced and by 1978 two-thirds of households in Sydney and Melbourne
had colour sets. The new allure of colour television together with economic
recession are cited as the primary causes of the 35 per cent drop in
national cinema grosses in 1976 (Collins 1987, 264–265).
|
|
|
|
|
In 1976-77, there
were 884 cinemas in Australia, of which 280
were drive-ins and 219 were ‘hard tops’ (conventional cinema
buildings)
in the major cities. A UK-based journalist for Sight and Sound
reported
that cinema tickets at the top end were priced around £1.30 (sterling),
approximately A$1.90–A$2.00. A letter to the editor from an Australian
claimed that the average first-run ticket price was closer to $3.50 and
by 1977 had increased to $4.00 (Sight and Sound, Winter 1976–77:
32;
Sight and Sound, Winter 1977–78: 197).
Video began to make its mark in Australia in the late 1970s.
Since 1976, admissions numbers and gross box office have been compiled
by the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia (MPDAA),
see Box office:
Admissions and gross box office.
|
1976
|
28.9
|
14.0
|
2.1
|
| 1977
|
24.1
|
14.2
|
1.7
|
| 1978
|
34.1
|
14.4
|
2.4
|
| 1979
|
33.6
|
14.5
|
2.3
|
| 1980
|
38.6
|
14.7
|
2.6
|
| 1981
|
38.7
|
14.9
|
2.6
|
| 1982
|
42.0
|
15.2
|
2.8
|
| 1983
|
37.1
|
15.4
|
2.4
|
| By 1984, 26 per
cent of Australian households had a video machine and this growth was
to have a negative affect on cinema attendances in the mid to late 1980s
(Collins 1987, 265; ACNielsen). See Video: Video
equipment: Ownership of VCR and DVD players.
|
1984
|
28.9
|
15.6
|
1.9
|
| 1985
|
29.7
|
15.8
|
1.9
|
| 1986
|
35.5
|
16.0
|
2.2
|
| 1987
|
30.8
|
16.3
|
1.9
|
|
|
1988
|
37.4
|
16.5
|
2.3
|
|
|
1989
|
39.0
|
16.8
|
2.3
|
|
|
1990
|
43.0
|
17.1
|
2.5
|
|
|
1991
|
46.9
|
17.3
|
2.7
|
|
|
1992
|
47.2
|
17.5
|
2.7
|
|
|
1993
|
55.6
|
17.7
|
3.1
|
|
|
1994
|
68.1
|
17.8
|
3.8
|
|
|
1995
|
69.9
|
18.0
|
3.9
|
|
|
1996
|
74.0
|
18.3
|
4.1
|
|
|
1997
|
76.0
|
18.5
|
4.1
|
|
|
1998
|
80.0
|
18.7
|
4.3
|
|
|
1999
|
88.0
|
18.9
|
4.6
|
|
|
2000
|
82.0
|
19.2
|
4.3
|
|
|
2001
|
92.5
|
19.5
|
4.7
|
|
|
2002
|
92.5
|
19.8
|
4.7
|
|
|
2003
|
90.0
|
20.1
|
4.5
|
|
|
2004
|
91.5
|
20.2
|
4.5
|
|
|
2005
|
82.2
|
20.5
|
4.0
|
|
|
2006
|
83.6
|
20.8
|
4.0
|
|
|
2007
|
84.7
|
21.2
|
4.0
|
|
|
2008
|
84.6
|
21.4
|
4.0
|
|
|
2009
|
90.7
|
21.9
|
4.1
|
Source: Motion Picture Distributors Association
of Australia (MPDAA). Population data from Australian Bureau of Statistics
(ABS). See Sources and acknowledgements.
Notes:
1. Admissions are based on annual data released the following January;
they do not reflect subsequent updates by the MPDAA.
