IRISH HIGHEST IN EUROPE FOR CINEMA ATTENDANCE

According to a recent EU survey, cinema attendance rose by 55 per cent between 1990 and 1996 with the equivalent of every member of the population going to 3.2 movies in the latter year.

Irelands largest cinema company Ward Anderson has more than 30 cinemas and 150 screens including the Savoy and Santry Omniplex in Dublin and the Capital in Cork. Over the past 18 months it has opened new multi-screen cinemas in Longford, Athlone and Waterford. A new four-screen cinema is to open in Kilkenny next month with six and eight screen cinemas coming on stream in Castlebar and Dundalk before the end of the year. Plans for a 14 screen complex in Dun Laoghaire are being considered by An Bord Pleanála.

UCI's Blanchardstown complex and the Japanese owned multinational's other cinemas in Tallaght and Coolock now account for up to one quarter of Ireland's estimated 12 million cinema admissions each year. It costs about £2.1 million to £2.3 million to put up a four-screen cinema complex. This has caused average ticket prices to almost double in the past five years from £2.60 in 1993 to £4.95 last year. Ticket margins are tight with distributors taking 40 per cent and VAT accounting for 12.5 per cent. This has placed an emphasis on non-ticket revenue with up to 40 per cent of UCI's profits made up of food, merchandise and other sales. It is estimated that each customer spends at least £1 on refreshment.

There is obviously a lot of money in cinemas at the moment but the country is reaching saturation point in screens and servicing a £2.1 million loan at 8 per cent means a lot of cinema owners and shareholder hope the current boom continues.