Europe’s Box Office in 2023: How Barbenheimer and Spider-Man ruled the big screen
European cinema landscape experienced a prosperous year in 2023, with significant contributions from blockbuster films such as Barbie, Oppenheimer, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, and Wonka. According to preliminary estimates from the International Union of Cinemas (UNIC), the year saw a remarkable 21 percent increase in European admissions, reaching a total box office of approximately €7.1 billion ($7.6 billion). This marked a substantial gain of 24 percent in Europe and 25 percent in the European Union compared to 2022.
While final data for 2023 will be released later in the spring, UNIC reported that several territories, including the Netherlands, Croatia, Albania, Serbia, and Montenegro, exceeded their box office revenues from the 2017-2019 period. Additionally, Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, and Slovakia matched pre-pandemic box office results.
Germany's box office surged to €859 million ($920 million), a 24 percent increase from 2022, with admissions rising by 19 percent to 87 million. France experienced a 19 percent increase, reaching 181 million admissions, while the U.K. box office grew by 8.5 percent to £978.5 million ($1.23 billion).
Italy demonstrated impressive growth, earning €496 million ($531 million) at the box office, a 62 percent increase, with admissions totaling 71 million, a 59 percent rise from 2022. Spain experienced a 22 percent
