ZAGREB, 1 April (2022) - The national statistical office has released data on cinematography in 2020, which confirm that cinemas and films were the part of the culture and art sector most affected by the coronavirus pandemic in the first year of the pandemic.

Compared to 2019, the number of screenings in 2020 was down by 48% and the number of visitors by 70%. Due to the closing down of all cultural and educational institutions, as many as 51% of cinematographers worked from seven to ten months in 2020.

The number of screenings and visitors dropped significantly in all counties, except for Karlovac County, where it grew compared to 2019.

The six open air cinemas that operated in 2020 saw an increase of 108% in screenings and a 53% increase in the number of visitors, which shows that epidemiological restrictions prompted a much larger number of visitors to watch films in the open.

Cinema operators in 2020 also saw a significant drop in ticket sales, with their total gross revenue down 70% from 2019.

Open air and mobile cinemas saw the smallest drop in revenues, of 11%, from 2019.

Seventy-five cinematographers operated in 2020, with 46 operating one screen and 22 more than one.

There were 18 independent cinematographers and 57 that operated as part of other business entities.

A total of 6,382 films were shown at 99,106 screenings, of which 2,422 were screenings of Croatian films. There were 1,503,306 viewers, of whom 31,953 watched Croatian films.

The number of cinema employees dropped 14% from 2019.

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