By the end of 2023, movie theaters around the world made about
$33.9 billion
. This was a big 30.5% jump from the year before.
But still, this was 15% less than what they made on average before the pandemic (2017-2019).
In 2024, they might make only $31.5 billion. This is because of problems like strikes. But even with these problems, the movie world, which is worth more than $250 billion, is growing a lot in some areas.
Some places are earning less money, but their movie businesses are growing fast. They are making more movies, showing them around the world, and getting more popular.
These new places are showing growth rates of up to 20% each year. They are becoming more important and known around the world.
Let’s look at the countries where the movie business is growing the fastest in 2023.
10. Saudi Arabia & Egypt
In Saudi Arabia, movies are new because they couldn’t have cinemas for 35 years. This changed in 2018. In just six years, they made a lot of money—about
SAR3.7 billion ($986.42 million)
. Saudi Arabia wants to grow its economy, so it is putting lots of money into making movies.
Egypt’s movie industry is older and very important in the region. It helps Saudi Arabia learn and grow their own movie business.
- Many Egyptian movies are loved in Saudi Arabia, helping to sell more tickets.
- Saudi filmmakers look up to Egypt’s success for ideas and guidance.
- Saudi Arabia now has 66 theaters in 22 cities. These have over 600 screens and 63,000 seats.
-
In 2023, Saudi’s box office made
$919 million
. They had 234 films shown in 65 theaters, and they sold 17 million tickets—a 25% increase from 2022. The most popular movie was Oppenheimer, followed by a local hit called Sattar.
9. Nollywood (Nigeria)
Nollywood in Nigeria is a big part of African cinema. They make a lot of movies cheaply and quickly. Better quality, a need for African stories, and online platforms for streaming are helping it grow.
-
Nigeria’s box office earnings grew from
N4.74 billion ($2.9 million)
in 2021 to
N7.24 billion ($4.5 million)
in 2023. - They saw a big rise of 46.4% from 2021 to 2022, and a smaller 4.3% rise in 2023.
- They hope to make
N10 billion ($6.2 million)
by the end of 2024, showing a 38.1% yearly growth. - Ticket prices went up 27% to N2,759 ($1.74). Popular movies like Battle on Buka Street and Avatar: The Way of Water did really well. Cinemas made N183.02 million during the switch from 2022 to 2023.
- Naira, Nigeria’s money, lost about 68% of its value, which affected Nollywood’s revenue badly.
8. Mexico
More movies came out in Mexico in 2023 than in the previous year: 433 films, up from 396. This shows that Mexico’s movie industry is bouncing back from the COVID-19 disruptions.
-
In 2023, Mexico’s box office revenue went up by 55% from the year before, grossing
$940 million
. But it was still 9% less than before the pandemic. - Mexico has kept people coming to movies even during the pandemic.
- While Hollywood movies did well, local movies were also popular. For example, the Mexican film Radical made over $12 million.
7. United Kingdom
The UK is well-known for its movies, especially big epics and franchises like James Bond. Events like the London Film Festival highlight both local and international movies.
-
In 2023, UK cinemas made
£978.5 million ($1.25 billion)
, an 8.3% rise from last year. - UK and Ireland combined made over £1 billion in 2023, a big step in recovering from the pandemic.
- 123.6 million movie tickets were sold, 5.3% more than in 2022.
- However, they made fewer movies in 2023—only 207 compared to 220 in 2022. They also spent less on making movies, dropping from £2.2 billion in 2022 to £1.36 billion in 2023.
6. France
France is important in the world of movies, with a long history of artistic films. The Cannes Film Festival is one of the most famous, showing talent from all over.
2023 Box Office Performance
-
The French box office made about
€1.3 billion ($1.4 billion)
in 2023, a 19% rise from last year. - 181.2 million tickets were sold, up 18.9% from 2022.
- Success came from U.S. hits like The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Barbie, and Avatar: The Way of Water, and from popular French movies.
- France went back to pre-pandemic levels, making 298 films in 2023, more than the 208 in 2022.
- There were 18 animated films in 2023, up from 13 in 2022, but documentaries fell from 54 in 2022 to 40 in 2023.
5. South Korea
Korean movies are loved worldwide for their unique stories and high quality. Films like
Parasite
have won big international awards.
-
In 2023, the South Korean box office made
KRW1.261 trillion ($964 million at January 2024 exchange rates)
, a 9% rise from last year. - But this is still less than the KRW1.91 trillion ($1.46 billion) made in 2019, showing recovery is slow.
- 125 million movie tickets were sold in 2023, an 11% increase from 113 million in 2022. This is still lower than the 227 million sold in 2019.
4. Japan
Japan’s cinema is famous for many genres, especially Anime, which has fans all over the world. The Tokyo International Film Festival shows off both Japanese and other Asian movies.
2023 Box Office Performance
-
Japan’s box office revenue in 2023 was
$1.48 billion
, about the same as in 2022. - This was still 6% less than the pre-pandemic average. The top movies were local hits like The First Slam Dunk and Detective Conan: Black Iron Submarine.
- They sold 155 million tickets, a 2% rise from 2022. The total money made was JPY221 billion (around $1.5 billion), up 4%, because of the weak yen.
- But the 2023 box office is still 20% below 2019’s ticket sales of 195 million and 15% below 2019’s JPY261 billion total earnings.
- In 2023, 1,232 films came out in Japan, a bit more than 1,143 in 2022, but less than 1,278 in 2019. They had 676 local films and 556 from other countries.
3. China
In 2023, Chinese films did very well, taking all top ten spots at the box office. They made
RMB54.9 billion ($7.73 billion)
, an
83% increase from 2022
. But this was still 14.5% less than before COVID-19 in 2019.
- This is the fourth highest box office total ever, showing good recovery from the pandemic.
- In 2022, China’s box office dropped 36% to RMB30 billion ($4.35 billion) because of lockdowns and restrictions.
- Chinese box office has grown because more people have money and like to watch both local and Hollywood movies.
2. Bollywood (India)
Bollywood is known for its musical dramas and epic love stories. Despite the pandemic and rise of online streaming, Bollywood is back with a bang.
-
In 2023, Bollywood made
$1.3 billion
at the box office, one of its best years. - This is a big jump from a low of $238 million in 2020 and $455 million in 2021. In 2022, they made $1.28 billion, almost as much as in 2019.
- Even though fewer people went to cinemas (892 million tickets sold in 2022 compared to 1.03 billion in 2019), ticket prices went up by 12% to $1.44.
1. Hollywood (USA)
Hollywood is the leader in the movie industry, known for big blockbusters and high-tech films. They also have big award shows like the Oscars.
The 2023 domestic box office made over $9 billion
, the most since the pandemic. But this is still $2 billion less than pre-pandemic yearly sales.
The fall season was slow for movies, but summer hits like Barbie and Oppenheimer gave a big boost. Barbie made about $636 million in the US, and Oppenheimer made $326 million.
- Disney has the top three highest-grossing films worldwide: Avengers: Endgame, Avatar, and The Lion King.
- In 2023, Hollywood had 504 films released in the US and Canada, more than 456 in 2022 but less than 792 in 2019.
- Box office revenue went up from about $7.4 billion in 2022, still less than the pre-pandemic peak of $11.3 billion. Hollywood is valued at over $100 billion and made up 26.8% of the worldwide box office revenue in 2023.