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Cinema industry trends
Films screened

Number of Australian and overseas films released in Australian cinemas, 1984–2016

Next update March 2018

The majority (54 per cent) of films released in Australian cinemas over the past 33 years have come from the US.

In 2005, the US share of titles fell by 10 per cent, marking the beginning of a downward trend that continues. In 2010, the US share fell below 50 per cent for the first time in 27 years, reaching an historical low of 31 per cent in 2016. Despite the decline in US titles released in  the domestic market, US films earned 85 per cent of the total box office for all films released in Australia during 2016 – $1,059.7 million out of $1,259.3 million.

The number of films from Asia has increased significantly since 2003, accounting for31 per cent of releases in 2016.

Local films comprised 7 per cent, below the 32-year average of 9 per cent.

Origin of films released, 2016

Graph: Origin of films released in Australia, 2014. The table following provides the data.
Aust. NZ Asia Europe North America Other Total
France UK Rest Canada US
Proportions
2016 7% 1% 31% 4% 12% 8% 1% 31% 5% 100%
33-year average 9% 1% 12% 5% 10% 6% 1% 54% 2% 100%
1984 25 1 0 9 22 12 4 146 4 223
1985 17 0 1 4 25 5 4 136 2 194
1986 30 2 6 8 25 10 0 155 3 239
1987 31 1 7 12 18 14 5 168 3 259
1988 36 2 6 10 31 22 3 167 4 281
1989 39 0 13 14 35 19 3 163 5 291
1990 22 3 7 26 20 14 6 153 1 252
1991 22 1 8 16 21 16 3 149 4 240
1992 29 1 5 9 28 15 6 135 1 229
1993 22 3 8 14 13 17 5 172 5 259
1994 26 2 12 17 22 13 6 153 1 252
1995 14 1 6 17 23 13 3 171 5 253
1996 25 1 9 12 25 10 3 190 6 281
1997 30 2 8 17 21 13 8 184 2 285
1998 20 0 5 12 29 5 3 189 10 273
1999 24 3 3 5 28 11 5 174 2 255
2000 22 0 8 14 29 6 1 167 3 250
2001 27 0 13 11 15 9 0 163 7 245
2002 22 1 10 12 24 12 1 170 6 258
2003 23 4 5 11 24 17 1 178 5 268
2004 16 1 27 17 21 19 6 200 11 318
2005 27 1 47 17 29 20 4 175 9 329
2006 29 5 41 17 28 18 7 184 4 333
2007 26 2 40 22 32 13 5 172 5 317
2008 33 0 40 20 24 15 7 158 4 301
2009 44 3 59 18 27 18 3 173 2 347
2010 29 3 75 21 29 18 11 137 3 326
2011 36 1 71 18 28 21 8 153 6 342
2012 27 3 97 27 47 28 7 171 13 420
2013 26 3 99 23 44 27 5 183 11 421
2014 39 5 126 30 59 33 7 174 32 505
2015 33 4 153 30 74 30 3 192 20 539
2016 43 7 186 25 76 49 6 189 28 609

Source: Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia (MPDAA) and Screen Australia.

Notes:
Australian films are those under Australian creative control, including domestic productions, official co-productions and other productions involving shared creative control, i.e. with a mix of Australians in key creative positions.
Figures may include films tracked by Screen Australia that have not reported data to the MPDAA. These films meet Screen Australia's definition of theatrical release by screening for at least seven consecutive days in a commercial cinema.
MPDAA figures for Australian films released in Australian cinemas include some shorts and documentaries. Totals are based on annual data released the following January in the MPDAA country of origin report and do not reflect subsequent updates by the MPDAA. They may not total exactly due to rounding.

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