National Cinema Day on Saturday 3 September
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From: Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
- Published on: 1 September 2022
- Last updated on: 9 September 2022
Today (1 September 2022), Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, welcomed the announcement of National Cinema Day, which is taking place across the country on Saturday 3 September.
Minister Martin said:
“Irish cinemas provide a diverse cultural offering to a wide-ranging demographic of audiences. I welcome the announcement of National Cinema Day which gives an opportunity to experience the big screen this coming Saturday with €4 tickets for all shows, all day.
"My department provided funding to 15 cinemas recently under the Commercial Entertainment Capital Grant Scheme which provided funding for capital projects and works that responded to the challenges associated with COVID-19 and that supported the recovery of the creative, cultural, entertainment and events sector.
"It has been a tough 2 years for many people but the pandemic really demonstrated the importance of social outlets for our collective wellbeing. The local cinema is a valuable social and educational service to communities across Ireland and offers the opportunity to audiences and potential filmmakers to foster a passion for film and storytelling on screen. Ireland has one of the highest rates of cinema-attendance per capita in Europe and I want to sincerely thank all of our cinema operators and cinema workers for their hard work and dedication over the past 2 years."
Cinema tickets for National Cinema Day can be purchased through the websites of participating cinemas and their box offices.
Notes
Whether located in large cities, smaller towns or rural areas, cinemas are modern meeting places that help stimulate dialogue on a range of important issues, combat social exclusion, revitalise interest in culture and foster innovation and creativity.
For 2 years, many cinemas were required to remain closed for prolonged periods and, even when open, were operating under safety measures that significantly restricted audience numbers.
We have witnessed the resilience of the film sector and its capacity to adapt to challenging circumstances. Cinema operators spared no effort in restoring their business and adapting to these unprecedented times, working to ensure that everything was being done to offer the safest experience possible to their customers and staff.
Following a very challenging 2020, last year’s strong performance by the Irish cinema sector sent a clear signal that audiences were eager to return to the big screen.
Even in a challenging financial context, cinema operators have continued to invest in the big screen experience, bringing state-of-the-art sound and image technology to film fans around the country.
Box office figures are showing signs of recovery (see details below for 2018-2021) while the total number of cinema screens across Ireland has remained stable in recent years.
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
| Box Office Figures (€ million) | 117.3 | 117.5 | 29.9 | 47.2 |
| Admissions (millions) | 15.8 | 15.1 | 3.8 | 5.8 |
| No. of Screens | (not available) | 543 | 534 | 533 |
In 2019, Ireland and France (at 3.3 visits per annum and 3.2 visits per annum respectively) experienced the highest rates of cinema-going amongst UNIC (International Union of Cinemas) territories, followed by Estonia (2.8), the UK (2.6), Denmark and Spain (both at 2.3 visits per annum).