Latest data published by the National Statistics Office (NSO) shows that in 2019, there were six cinema establishments operating in Malta and Gozo, with a total of 28 screens and a seating capacity of 5,762. Of these six cinemas, two were situated in Gozo.

In total, 409 film titles were exhibited in 2019, while the total screenings amounted to 29,184, with an average of 71 screenings per film. Last year, cinemas registered a total of 748,568 admissions. Maltese productions had 13,942 admissions with a total gross box office of €99,000 in 650 screenings. On the other hand, foreign productions had 734,626 admissions with a total gross box office of €4.952 million in 28,534 screenings. The majority of cinemagoers, 91.2 per cent, have watched films originating from the United States. On their part, Maltese productions attracted 1.9 per cent of the total number of admissions

Admissions to 3D movies accounted for 18 per cent of the total, while 81 per cent of admissions were for digital non-3D films. A total of 705 film shows were projected in 2019, of which 82.7 per cent or 583 film shows were first-time releases (Table 6). Last year, 238 fiction films were screened in cinemas across Malta and Gozo. Films falling under this category attracted 72.0 per cent of total admissions. On their part, animation films amounted to 47 and attracted 26.4 per cent of total admissions.

In 2019, the most popular movies were ‘The Lion King’, ‘Aladdin’ and ‘Joker’. ‘The Lion King’ attracted 10.4 per cent of the total admissions, ‘Aladdin’ attracted 7.2 per cent of the total admissions and ‘Joker’ attracted 5.5 per cent of the total admissions.

In terms of age classification, most films shown in Maltese cinemas were rated as ‘15’ and ‘12A’. From all the films projected in 2019, 26.9 per cent were rated as ‘15’, while 25.9 per cent were rated as ‘12A’. On the other hand, 3.4 per cent were rated as ‘18’.

The running time of 60.9 per cent of the films projected in 2019 fell within the 76 to 120 minutes bracket. These were followed by screenings with a duration of 121 to 180 minutes, amounting to 26.9 per cent. As per type of screening, the ‘Live/Encore’ type of screenings, including operas, ballets, and theatre, had the longest running time with an average of 183 minutes. On the other hand, animation films were the shortest with an average running time of 87 minutes. With reference to the number of staff members, last year, cinemas were found to be employing an average of 134 persons, of which 77.6 per cent were engaged on a part-time basis.