The US theater industry saw audiences drop to their lowest level since 1995 in 2017, but higher ticket prices meant overall revenue dropped only 2%.
In a report put together by the Motion Picture Association of America (per Variety), last year saw 1.24 billion tickets sold, a 6% drop on 2016’s attendance levels.
However, ticket prices cushioned that drop, bringing in $11.1 billion over the course of the year. It’s also worth pointing out that 2016’s $11.6 billion was a record high for the industry.
By comparison, home entertainment spending rose 11% to $47.8 billion, primarily because of video streaming services. Streaming service subscriptions rose 33% to 446.8 million.