$26 billion was the total box office take for movies worldwide in 2022, a respectable 27% increase from 2021, but still far below pre-pandemic levels.
Swati Bhat
Research company Gower Street Analytics estimated that global gross box office receipts for the entire year ended December 31, 2022, at $25.9 billion. In comparison, $21.4 billion was made in 2021.
The 2022 figure is 35% lower than the average for 2017–19, the three years prior to COVID–19, which completely changed the worldwide film industry. According to Gower Street, the 2022 figure equals a $14 billion annual loss in gross revenue.
China lost the box office title to the North American (also known as "domestic") market in 2022 after holding the top spot in both 2020 and 2021.
The North American market is expected to generate $7.5 billion in revenue in 2022, according to Comscore Movies. That put it 65% ahead of 2021 but 35% behind the average for 2017–2019.
In 2022, it is estimated that Asia Pacific (excluding China) will have produced $5.2 billion, which is 26% less than the 2017–2019 average and 49% more than in 2021. With an expected $1.5 billion, Japan was the market to watch in 2022, only 9.4% behind its pre-pandemic average.
China is estimated to have placed fourth with a total revenue of $4.33 billion, 36% behind 2021. The 2022 China figure was much lower than the nation's pre-pandemic three-year average by 49%. According to other observers, 2022 was China's lowest annual total in 11 years.
According to estimates, the global market (excluding China and North America) will have generated about $14.1 billion in 2022, up 55% from 2021 and 29% less than the average for the years 2017–2019. In comparison to the three-year average, all three major areas outperformed the North American and Chinese markets.
Europe, the Middle East, and Africa brought in $7.1 billion, which is an increase of 52% over 2021 but 31% less than the pre-pandemic average.
Nearly $1.8 billion was generated in Latin America, which was 30% below than the three-year average but had the highest increase over 2021 at 87%.
Russia was the company's least successful market as compared to pre-pandemic sales levels. Revenues in Russia decreased 57% from pre-pandemic levels in 2021 to a figure that was down 43% from 2021.
China ($4.3 billion), Japan ($1.5 billion), the United Kingdom and Ireland ($1.2 billion), France ($1.1 billion), South Korea ($0.9 billion), Germany ($0.8 billion), Australia ($0.64 billion), Mexico ($0.63 billion), Spain ($0.4 billion), Brazil ($0.35 billion), Italy ($0.33 billion), Russia ($0.31 billion), Russia ($0.31 billion), Netherlands ($0.27 billion), Saudi Arabia ($0.27 billion), and the United Arab Emirates ($0.16 billion).
Comparisons of percentages between 2022 and 2021 and the years before the pandemic were made using like-for-like local currency figures that were converted at the current exchange rate for improved accuracy.