04-02-2021

Macedonian Cinema Admissions Drop by 77% in 2020

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    Honeyland by Ljubo Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska Honeyland by Ljubo Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska

    SKOPJE: Macedonian cinema admissions decreased by 77% in 2020 compared to 2019 when admissions were at the highest point ever. In 2019 the admissions rose to 0.5 m which was an increase of 25% compared to 0.4 m admissions in 2018.

    The year started strongly, with good performances by the US Production Bad Boys for Life, reaching around 15,000 admissions, followed by the Albanian film I Love Tropoja with 9.500 admissions, and Jumanji: The Next Level with less than 8,000 admissions.

    The coronavirus outbreak forced cinema closures with the first national lockdown on 11 March, capacity restrictions, the postponement of film releases and public health concerns about attending cinemas. Although open air cinemas were opened in early July and the traditional cinemas reopened on 24 September and stayed open till the end of the year, the admissions were lower than ever.

    The largest exhibitor in North Macedonia Cineplexx registered 90,801 admissions in 2020, a drop of 77% compared to 395,487 admissions in 2019. It screened 91 titles Only Human by Igor Ivanovcompared to 148 titles in 2019. The second biggest Cinema Milenium, based in Skopje, registered a decrease of 71% compared to 2019. It screened only 44 titles and sold 13,836 tickets.

    The top domestic title in 2020 was Honeyland / Medena zemja directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov, and produced and distributed by Tris Films, with some 5,000 admissions. The film generated 45,200 admissions since its release in 2019, which made it the top domestic hit in 2019.

    The second place was occupied by the only new domestic release, Only Human / Homo directed by Igor Ivanov, and produced and distributed by Skopje Film Studio. The film generated under 1,000 admissions.

    The official statistics with the box office numbers will be ready in early spring of 2021.