Cinemas doing record business despite recession
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By Siiri Liitiä
The recession has not decreased attendance at cinemas in Finland, even though Finns are cutting back on many other expenses.
The year so far has been the best ever for the Finnkino chain. From January to April this year, more than 1.8 tickets had been bought, which is 240,000 more than last year at the same time.
The early part of the year was also stronger for the Bio Rex cinema chain than the first four months of 2008 were.
Bio Rex has five cinemas in Finland. The most recent to open was the Bio Rex Sello at the Sello shopping mall in Leppävaara in Espoo.
Finnkino has 16 cinemas in 11 communities around Finland.
The trend reflects the situation in the United States, where movie attendance has grown by as much as 20 per cent. There are historical precedents for this.
Going to the movies in the United States surged in the later part of the Great Depression of the 1930s. At one point, 65 per cent of the population went to the movies once a week during the Great Depression.
Films were also popular during the Second World War.
The Finnkino cineplex in Tennispalatsi in the centre of Helsinki announced an all time record in February during hits tenth anniversary, with 20,394 viewers in a single day.
Ria Nyman, head of marketing at Finnkino, attributes the growth in cinema attendance to a need felt by many to escape everyday routine at a reasonable price.
Another possible reason behind the increase in cinema attendance may be the new Flamingo complex opened in connection with the Jumbo shopping mall in Vantaa. However, Nyman believes that even without it, ticket sales at Finnkino cinemas would have grown.
Nyman does not feel that the films on offer can explain the growth in attendance. She says that there are currently no box-office magnets on offer, like last year’s Mamma Mia or the new James Bond film.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 25.5.2009
The writer of the original article is a pupil in the ninth grade of Sompio School who has been working as a trainee at the Helsingin Sanomat city desk.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 26.5.2009 - THIS WEEK |
 Cinemas doing record business despite recession |
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