Irish cinema admissions up 18% in 2000

Cinema admissions in the Republic of Ireland leapt by 18% to 14.89 million in 2000, compared to 12.45 million in 1999 - the largest year-on-year increase on record - according to figures from Carlton Screen Advertising.

The month of February, 2000 showed a massive 68% increase over the previous year to 1.66 million, a figure bolstered by the release of a number of high-performing titles (see table below) and the presence of new cinema sites in the market. The months of June, October and November were the only ones to record a drop on the previous year, down respectively by 4%, 5% and 7%. The fall in November to 1.13 million was considerably less than that experienced (30%) in the UK market, with which Ireland has many distribution and exhibition links.

While popular taste is similar in both countries, Angela's Ashes (for obvious reasons), Scary Movie, Snatch and Erin Brockovich appear in the Irish top ten, substituting for Stuart Little, Billy Elliott, X-Men and The Beach in the UK list.

During 2000, the Republic had 313 Screens on 69 sites, up from 292 screens on 67 sites in 1999.

Title (Distributor) (Date of release) Gross in $ (IR£)

1. Gladiator (UIP) (12/05/00) 2,699,702 (2,293,843)
2. Toy Story 2 (BVI) (11/02/00) 2,683,659 (2,280,212)
3. American Beauty (UIP) (04/02/00) 2,341,288 (1,989,311)
4. Angela's Ashes (UIP) (14/01/00) 2,023,292 (1,719,121)
5. Mission: Impossible 2 (UIP) (07/07/00) 1,705,640 (1,449,223)
6. What Lies Beneath (Fox) (20/10/00) 1,591,819 (1,352,513)
7. Scary Movie (BVI) (08/09/00) 1,483,642 (1,260,599)
8. Snatch (Col/Tri) (01/09/00) 1,325,309 (1,126,069)
9. Chicken Run (Pathe) (30/06/00) 1,321,370 (1,122,722)
10. Erin Brockovich (Col/Tri) (07/04/00) 1,304,216 (1,108,147)