Cinema industry trends Screens and theatres Total screens, seating capacity and theatres in Australia, 1980–2017 Next update February 2019 The number of cinema screens in Australia has risen more than 150 per cent between 1980 and 2017, from 829 to 2,210. After a decline in the mid-1980s, growth was particularly strong in the three years to 1999, when screen numbers rose by 150 to 175 per year. Following several years of gradual growth, 2007 recorded the first fall in screen numbers since 1987. This was reversed in 2008, with growth continuing since then. However, the screens are increasingly concentrated.