Russian cinema visits at five-year low

Russian cinema attendance in July was the lowest seen in five years and down 16.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2015.

According to a study conducted by research company Movie Research, Russian cinemas received 14.5 million visitors in July 2016, the lowest showing for the month since 2012.

Hit animation Minions drew around 7.7 million people to cinemas within the first four weeks of its release in Russia last summer. This July’s most popular film was another cartoon — Ice Age: Collision Course — but within three weeks it brought in only 3.9 million viewers.

Russian films seem to have suffered particularly badly during this slump in viewing rates.

“In July 2016 not one domestic film has been on show that has attracted more than 25,000 people,” the study stated.

Source: Afisha (in Russian)