Moviegoers in Europe largely still turned up for big-screen experiences last year, albeit a little less frequently than they did in 2023.

Preliminary data published yesterday by the European Audiovisual Observatory highlights a few key trends in cinema attendance for the region, where 841 million tickets were sold in 2024, representing a 2% year-over-year decline. 

The report theorizes that continued ripple effects from the 2023 Hollywood strikes (shifting releases and production schedules) are behind the drop, but points out that this has also opened up opportunities for local movies in several European markets.

While overall movie attendance was down, kids content imports had a strong showing last year. Animated franchise sequels from Hollywood were top theatrical performers, with the report naming Inside Out 2, Despicable Me 4 (pictured) and Moana 2 among the continent’s highest-grossing films of 2024. 

In terms of ticket sales by country, France led the pack (181 million), followed by the UK (127 million), Germany (90 million) and Italy (73 million).

Cinema attendance overall seems to have settled at around 24% below pre-pandemic levels (2017 to 2019), and this suggests that “the post-pandemic rebound has run its course and the market may have reached a new equilibrium.”

Meanwhile, box-office revenues in Europe hit US$6.9 billion (€6.6 billion) in total, down a hair from US$7 billion (€6.7 billion) reported last year. 

The European Audiovisual Observatory will be releasing an updated report before the Cannes Marché du Film (May 13 to 21).