The cinema admissions in Romania went up by 11.3% in 2017, according to provisional data from the International Union of Cinemas (UNIC), the body representing European cinema trade associations and key operators.

At the same time, the local box office increased 14% compared to 2016, to an estimated RON 275.4 million (EUR 59.2 million). The same provisional data show a total of 14.5 million tickets were sold in local cinemas last year.

The increase puts Romania on par with its Central and Eastern Europe peers, where Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary and Ukraine all reported increases in admissions and box office.

The most watched films in local cinemas last year were The Fate of the Furious, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Thor: Ragnarok and Fifty Shades Darker.

In the EU member states, the total admissions decreased slightly by 0.6% compared to 2016, but total admissions for all UNIC territories increased by 2.1%, totaling more than 1.3 billion visits to the cinema.

As in previous years, international productions drove the box office, UNIC said. Among the most watched films were Beauty and the Beast, Despicable Me 3, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, The Fate of the Furious and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

UNIC is set to release the final data on each of its territories in the spring of 2018.

Action, fantasy films lead the 2017 box office in Romania

editor@romania-insider.com