Iranian cinemas break 23-year audience record
Iranian cinemas achieved a 23-year audience record in the current year (starting from March 21, 2023), attracting over 27.5 million viewers, a milestone not reached in the past two decades.
Iran’s cinemas, after the peak of 33 million viewers in 1979, have not experienced such audience numbers until this year, IRNA reported.
During the spring, cinemas attracted 6.3 million viewers. In the summer, due to the overlap with the months of Muharram and Safar, the number of cinema-goers decreased to 4.5 million. The audience numbers reached 9.5 million in the fall and 6.5 million until March 1. Additionally, 715,000 people watched films left over from last year in the early months of this year, bringing the total cinema audience for the year to 27.515 million.
Iranian cinemas have achieved over 27.5 million viewers, surpassing last year’s figure of 13.7 million, a doubling in audience numbers for the current year.
In addition to the massive audience attraction and strong box office performance, Iranian cinemas have also set other records. On November 14, 2023, they achieved the highest number of viewers in one day during the past four years, with 282,000 attendees. Although this day is likely the most attended in the past decade as well.
The latest statistics on the increase in cinema audiences date back to 1979 when 33 million people attended cinemas during that year. If there was proper planning for the summer season, the most lucrative screening period after Nowruz (Persian New Year), and considering the strong film lineup during February and March, the industry could exceed the 33 million mark of 1979. However, it lost the summer season as well as February and March and it is highly unlikely to achieve the goal.