37,000,000 Went To The Movies Last Year

Northern Advocate, 14 June 1947, Page 3

37,000,000 Went To The Movies Last Year

(From Our Special Correspondent) WELLINGTON, This Day, IN the fiGS picture theatres of the Dominion nearly 37,000,00 ft paid admissions were recorded for the year ended in March last, and the industry showed its financial importance with an expenditure of £2,648,409 and a revenue totalling £2,933,417.

From the details given by the Government Statistician it is shown that there was ;< slight drop in the turn- ■ over in 1944-45, but the latest figures show an improvement to the extent of 4.1 per cent though they are lower than the peak recorded in 1943-44 when paid admissions substantially exceeded 38.0C0.000. Revenue for paid admissions last year amounted to nearly £3.000,000 Auckland Province making the major contribution With £1.154,302. Wellington receipts were £703,919. Canterbury £423.106. and Otago and Southland £277,699. The leading districts in paid admissions were: Auckland Province. 14.792.827; Wellington. 8,584.498; Can-

terbury. 4.962,160; Otago. 2,511.267 with the Southland portion providing an additional 80,000. The principal items cf expenditure in the total of £2,226.000 were: Film hire. £851.779; salaries and wages. £530.776; rents, £324,137; advertising. £159.000; and amusements tax, £131,199. The average admission charge works out at 18.3 d, ranging from 15.5 d for Westland, to 19.4 d in Canterbury The previous year’s average was 17.5 d per admission.