The start of the year was chaotic for Swiss cinemas, reports “SonntagsBlick”. The programming was lighter and several Hollywood blockbusters did not attract crowds. This had a significant impact on cinema admissions: at the end of May, they were more than 12% lower than last year, as shown by figures from the Swiss association of film exhibitors and distributors ProCinema.
After the peak of 2023, where the ten million admissions mark was crossed, another disappointing year looms for cinemas. “We knew that 2024 would be a difficult year for us,” Edna Epelbaum, cinema operator and president of the Swiss Film Association, declared in the German-speaking Sunday newspaper. She blames the long strikes in Hollywood last year, which hampered the supply of films. But big-budget American films, like “The Fall Guy” or “Furiosa,” were also failures, notes the manager.
However, Switzerland is not alone in this situation. The American film industry has plunged into crisis after the coronavirus pandemic. Anti-Covid measures and inflation have led to record budgets. At the same time, ticket sales in North America fell by almost a quarter.
Distrust of the cinema market is also reflected in distribution strategies: films often end up on digital platforms after just a few weeks. Edna Epelbaum, however, wants to remain positive. According to her, American production should recover by the fall or at the latest in 2025.
