Profit from national films falls 26%, but cinemas will be forced to show a minimum quota

Cinemas recorded a reduction in income from Brazilian films by 26% last year compared to 2022. National works generated R$52.7 million for cinemas compared to R$71.3 million in 2022. The data is aggregated by the National Cinema Agency (Ancine) in the Cinematographic Market Indicators Panel.

In 2019, before the pandemic, Brazilian cinema generated R$319.1 million in profit. In addition to the amounts raised, there was also a decline in the number of spectators. Last year, 2.9 million people went to watch national films in cinemas, and in 2022 the number of spectators exceeded 4 million. The results show a drop of around 27.5% in attendance.

Of the 718 works that were shown, 267 were Brazilian and 451 were foreign. Foreign films accumulated R$2.1 billion in revenue and 109 million viewers in 2023. In 2022, international works recorded a profit of R$1.7 billion and 91.3% of viewers.

“Screen quota” for national films

In December, the Senate approved the project that recreates the exhibition quota for Brazilian films, valid until 2033. The so-called “screen quota” was established through a provisional measure (MP) in 2001, which stipulated a validity period for the measure of 20 years. The text was forwarded for presidential sanction.

The project determines that commercial public exhibition rooms, spaces and places are obliged to show Brazilian feature-length works, observing the minimum number of sessions and the diversity of titles, which will be determined by Executive decree. Ancine will monitor compliance with the measure.