Boxoffice-January.08.1955

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, in
)IAN SURVEY REPORTS '53 GROSSES UP
jased Admission Rates More Than Offset Decline in
Attendance
Canadian motion picture
and distributors received
he year 1953 tlian in 1952,
ral survey compiled by the
u of Statistics.
1 receipts of motion pietors
in regular theatres,
tialls operated as comand
in halls serviced by
increased by 3 per cent
ndance decreased 1 per
eipts, exclusive of taxes,
83 in 1952 to $109,072,528
jmber of paid admissions
to 259,346,837.
S
FALL
"es paid admissions fell
241.182,726, while receipts
,851,349 to $100,889,361.
jorted an increase in paid
'9,586 in 1952 to 11,134,788
ts expanded from $4,409,-
e number of paid admisty
enterprises advanced
47,668 while receipts grew
1.851.685. For halls servierators,
paid admissions
120 in 1952 to 1,381,655 in
from $495,584 to
theatres of all types in
ch included 1,906 regular
1 theatres, 669 community
lalls serviced by itinerant
nt taxes, over and above
;d for the four groups to
as follows: regular thearive-ins,
$685,389: com-
;105,057 and halls, $31,859.
provinces except Ontario,
me more extensively used
money on motion picture
itures averaged $8.30 for
as compared with $8.21
.15 in 1946.
'ER CAPITA BASIS
replaced Ontario as the
ghest per capita expendiures
with an average of
ith $9.94 in 1952. Alberta
place with a per capita
iinst $8.87 in the preced-
) the per capita expendi-
:ompared with $10.06 in
the next highest figure
;t $7.31 in 1952.
the fifth highest per
n movies in 1953 with an
mpared to $6.51 in 1952.
ed with a per capita fig-
76: Quebec, with $7 and
ck with $6.02 and $5.52:
nd with $4.06 and $4.01,
nth $4,03 as against $3.90
nission price (including
heatres was 47 cents in
las highest in Quebec at
Newfoundland at 37
Dlumbia and Alberta the
49 cents, in Ontario 47
^•ard Island and Saskat-
SURVEY IN CAPSULES
Ottawa—Capsule facts on the trend of
motion picture business in Canada follow:
Receipts in regular 35mni theatres
totaled $100,889,361 in 1953 from 241,182.-
726 paid admissions as compared to a
grross of $98,851,349 from 247,732,717 in
1952.
The number of
regular 35mm theatres
in 1953 increased to 1,713 from 1,671.
The average admission price (including
taxes) in 1953 was 47 cents, an increase
from the year before.
British Columbia replaced Ontario as
the province with the highest per capita
expenditure, rising there to $10.56 from
$9.94. Alberta was second with $9.73 compared
to S8.87. In Ontario the per capita
expenditure for motion pictures dropped
to $9.67 In 1953 from $10.06 in 1952.
Canadian drive-in capacity increased
47 per cent in 1953 over the previous year,
increasing in number from 104 to 174.
Both admissions and receipts increased,
from 8,379,586 and $4,409,426 in 1952 to
11,134,788 and $5,862,920 in 1953.
Amusement taxes collected (on top of
above gross figures) totaled $12,760,235
by regular theatres and $685,389 by driveins.
chewan 41 cents, in Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick 40 cents, and in Manitoba 38 cents.
There were 9,027 male employes and 6,723
female employes who received $20,018,413
from the 1.906 regular theatres in 1953, compared
with 8.804 males and 6296 females
receiving $18,868,116 in the previous year.
There was a total of 17,651 persons employed
by the industry during 1953. of which 1,516
were working proprietors and family members
not receiving a regular salary and 385
salaried proprietors. The 15.750 paid employes,
including working executives of incorporated
companies, received $20,018,413 in
salaries and wages. Of the 15.750 paid employes
14.258 were engaged in the operation
of theatres which were opened 300 days or
more during the year and these received
$19,228,653 in salaries and wages.
OVER 2,000 PROJECTIONISTS EMPLOTED
The projectionists and assistant projectionists
numbered 2.156 and they received $6,278.-
966 in salaries and wages. Part-time theatres,
those operating less than 300 days during the
year, employed 1.492 persons who received
salaries and wages amounting to $789,760.
In 1953 the seating capacity of regular
theatres increased by 2.4 per cent, while the
potential capacity rose by 1.7 per cert over
1952. Potential capacity is computed by multiplying
the number of seats in each theatre
by the number of performances. Only 29.5
per cent of a potential capacity of 818.625,591
was utilized in 1953. Capacity utilization was
highest in Newfoundland at 36.3 per cent
and lowest in Quebec at 27.1 per cent.
Over 39 per cent of the 1953 business went
to theatres in Ontario, which had also 35.5
per cent of the total seating capacity. Quebec
theatres, with 24.4 per cent of total seating
capacity, obtained 25.2 per cent of the total
business. British Columbia had 9.5 per cent
of seating capacity and 10.1 per cen' of receipts
while Alberta with 7.5 per cent of the
seats reported 7.6 per cent of total business.
All the other provinces had lesser percentages
of receipts than of seating capacity.
In 1953 circuits operating four or more
theatres in Canada obtained 71 per cent of
the total revenue and 69 per cent of admissions,
although they numbered only 37 per
cent of Canada's 1.906 regular theatres. Circuits
in the 20 and over class received 58 per
cent of the receipts and 54 per cent of the
admissions.
NINETY PER CENT USE 35MM
Ninety per cent of the 1,906 regular theatres
operating (1.713) in 1953 used 35mm projection
equipment and accounted for 99 per
cent of the receipts. These 1.713 theatres
had receipts of $100,204,153 in 1953 compared
with receipts of $685,208 obtained by the 193
theatres which used 16mm equipment.
In 1952 there were 1.671 theatres using
35mm equipment with receipts of $98,322,322
and 172 theatres using 16mm equipment with
receipts of $529,027.
The number of drive-in theatres increased
from 104 in 1952 to 174 in 1953 while total car
capacity increased by 47 per cent. Receipts
rose by almost 33 per cent from $4 409,426 in
1952 to $5,862,920 in 1953. In the year under
review there were 11.134.788 paid admissions
to drive-ins compared with 8.379,586 the previous
year, while amusement taxes amounted
to $685,389 in 1953 compared with $540,390
ia 1952. Ontario's 68 drive-ins collected
$2 572.095 in receipts plus $323,516 in amusement
taxes and accounted for nearly 44 per
cent of paid admissions. A feature of 1953
was the increase in drive-ins in western
Canada, Manitoba now having 13. Saskatchewan
29, Alberta 29 and British Columbia 23.
DRIVE-INS EMPLOY ABOUT 2,000
There were 1,972 persons employed in Canadian
drive-ins in 1953, who received $1,432,636
in wages. Of the total, 194 were projectionists,
who received $420,326 for their services.
In 1953 film exchange companies handled
a volume of business amounting to $35,446,-
293 which represented a 4.3 per cent increase
over the $33,979,599 handled in 1952. There
was an increase in film rentals from $32,911.-
042 in 1952 to $34,436,609 in 1953 but In the
same period advertising receipts dropped
from $567,144 to $533,977 and receipts from
other sources decreased from $501,413. to
$475,707.
Of the total film rental receipts of $34,436,-
609. 83.8 per cent or $28,871,729 represented
35mm films for theatrical use. The value of
16mm film rentals for theatrical use was
$2,022,112.
New films of all types released during the
year numbered 3.521. of which 2.983 were for
theatrical use on a commercial basis.
Segregation of the 1.289 new feature films
released in 1953 as to country of origin follows:
United States. 779: France. 290: Great
Britain. 147: Canada, 2; Italy. 41. and other
countries, 30.
lary 8, 1955 79