Box office surges despite ‘piracy threat’

A report from the movie industry trade body the MPAA has shown that the international box office experienced another bumper year.

Despite various proclamations of doom regarding online piracy of movies, the box office has continued to growth at an impressive rate with 2010 managing ticket sales of $31.8 billion, up 13 per cent.

The largest gains were to be seen in the Asia Pacific and Latin America regions on 21 and 25 per cent respectively. Europe experienced a moderate 5 per cent gain in 2010 while the US was flat with no growth at all.

In fact the number of movie goers in the US decreased by five per cent, revenue remained flat due to cinemas increasing ticket prices.

The MPAA report shows a massive 122 per cent increase in the number of digital projection systems installed, up from 16,335 in 2009 to 36,208 in 2010.

Despite the world economy-beating performance, MPAA chief Bob Pisaro still opted to underline the threat of movie piracy, claiming that it would have a "sustained adverse impact on movie attendance in the coming years."