Brazil and Mexico Dominate Latin American Exhibition
December 19, 2007
Source: Dodona Research
Latin America will
be one of the world's most buoyant market over the next five
years, with Brazil and Mexico, leading the way, according
to a new report, Cinemagoing Latin America* from analysts
Dodona Research. The report, which covers the key markets
of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela,
forecasts admissions in the region will reach 463 million
by 2011, compared with 357 million in 2006.
The largest market in the region is Mexico,
whose 105 million people each visited the cinema 1.57 times
on average in 2006. The fastest-growing, by contrast, is Peru,
where admissions grew from 8.5 million in 2001 to 15.2 million
in 2006.
Altogether there are over 8,100 screens
in these countries, compared to 6,300 five years ago. Another
1,500 screens are expected to open in the next five years.
Most screens are in Mexico (3,801) and Brazil (2,045) but
the fastest growth is expected in Colombia, whose screen count
of 395 in 2006 is forecast to rise to 525 by 2011.
Although the region is growing fast, ticket
prices remain relatively low, ranging from an average of US$4.00
in Chile to just US$2.21 in Peru. In the largest markets,
Mexico and Brazil, cinema-goers pay US$3.33 and US$3.53 respectively.
Box office in these countries reached US$1
billion for the first time in 2004, rising to US$1.17 billion
by 2006. The Hollywood studios – whose products dominate
these markets – stand to see their dollar receipts from
this market climb still further as a result of the weakness
of the American currency.
As in almost all but the most developed
cinema markets, digital cinema has yet to make a significant
impact across most of the region. The exception is Brazil,
where the content aggregator, Rain Network, has built a network
of over 130 digital screens, with plans to extend this to
300. It operates an unrestricted platform outside the Hollywood
DCI guidelines, and has applied novel ideas such as theatrical-on-demand
to allow cinema-goers to participate in selecting films for
screening at their local venues.
Much of the growth in the region has come
as a result of private equity finance being available to expand
circuits or establish new ones. The largest circuits are Organizacion
Ramirez (with 1,661 screens across the whole of Latin America),
Cinemark (1,001), MM Cinemas (785), and Cinemex (488). Another
eight circuits have between 120 and 219 screens. Report author
Alisdair Ritchie believes exhibitors will continue to invest
in the region: "Latin America is benefitting enormously
from the current raw materials boom. While this continues
the region's consumer economies will continue to grow, and
cinema exhibition can be expected to be a beneficiary of this".
*Latin America Report from Dodona Research
at www.dodona.co.uk
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