Cinema, as one of the cultural and creative industries, sits at the intersection of art, technology and the economy. For this reason, to succeed in it one must have a comprehensive and multifaceted view. To meet the country's cultural and artistic needs, these three sides must be observed together and correctly, and policymaking, planning and implementation must be undertaken in light of existing conditions and requirements.
One of the important requirements for this work is access to Iranian cinema statistics, information and data and their use. Although one of the common and serious problems of the country in various fields including culture is collecting and accessing data within a specified and orderly framework, the cinema industry takes several steps ahead in this field, such that the Cinema Organization of Iran has collected and made available Iranian cinema data since 1364 (1985/86).
Given the importance of the narrative that data honestly offer of the silver screen, in this note we look at the statistical yearbook of film box office and Iranian cinema in 1401 (2022/23). The data in this report are based on active cinemas connected to the SAMFA (cinema box office system) system. In what follows we examine Iranian cinema information from two perspectives, feature films and cinema.
Films released in 1401 (2022/23)
Films released in 1401 (2022/23) totaled 98 films. Broken down, Iranian feature films in 1401 (2022/23) were 59 films, Art and Experience group films 17 films, and foreign feature films in 1401 (2022/23) 22 films. These films in total brought 13,672,357 admissions to cinema halls in Iran. Total Iranian cinema box office revenue in 1401 (2022/23) was more than 420 billion tomans.
Best Iranian films of 1401 (2022/23)
As noted, on the list of feature films of 1401 (2022/23), 59 Iranian feature films were released. The feature film Enferadi, directed by Masoud Atyabi, with 2,434,463 admissions, was the most-watched Iranian film among the feature films released in 1401 (2022/23). This film also, with an average cinema ticket price of 318,700 rials, sold more than 77.5 billion tomans and took the title of highest-grossing Iranian film of 1401 (2022/23). After Enferadi, the feature film Bucharest, with more than 44.5 billion tomans, is in second place among the highest-grossing Iranian films of 1401 (2022/23). Third place among the highest-grossing Iranian feature films of 1401 (2022/23), with box office of 40.9 billion tomans, has also been assigned to the feature film Sagband.
A look at the first ten films on the list of feature films of 1401 (2022/23) shows that although the first three films on this list have a comedy genre, the two feature films Dolphin Boy and Lopeto, with a children-and-adolescents genre, have respectively been placed in fourth and tenth among the highest-grossing Iranian films of 1401 (2022/23). These two films in total have drawn more than 1.7 million admissions to the country's cinema halls. This shows that children's feature films of 1401 (2022/23) have been well received by admissions. These two films can be good examples for practitioners and those interested in the children-and-adolescents genre.
Foreign films in Iranian cinema in 1401 (2022/23)
The screening of foreign feature films in Iranian cinema has for a long time not had a particularly desirable status, and this year too has not departed from the rule of this time trend. The screening of foreign films in Iranian cinema in 1401 (2022/23) was 22 foreign feature films. The film The Conjuring 3 (Conjuring3), directed by Michael Chaves, with 30,835 admissions, was the most-watched foreign film, which had box office of 1.2 billion tomans. After this film, Gravity 3D, with 16,116 admissions and box office of 1.1 billion tomans, is in second place, and the film War for the planet (War for the Planet of the Apes), with 10,026 admissions and box office of 700 million, is in third place among the best and highest-grossing foreign feature films of 1401 (2022/23) in Iranian cinemas.
Art and Experience films in 1401 (2022/23)
The 17 Art and Experience cinema films released in 1401 (2022/23) had a total of 10,635 admissions. Given the box office figures of Art and Experience films, the feature film Tara, with 3,103 admissions, accounted for approximately one-third of this amount and stands in first place. After Tara, the film Imo, with 2,385 admissions, is in second place, and the feature film Derakht-e Khamush, with 648 admissions, is in third among the highest-grossing Art and Experience group films in 1401 (2022/23). Although the main nature and philosophy of Art and Experience cinema films is not attracting admissions, and these films struggle with numerous problems. But Iranian cinema data in 1401 (2022/23) also speak of often empty halls during the screening and exhibition of Art and Experience films.
Status of Iran's cinemas
By examining the number of cinema halls in Iran in 1401 (2022/23) it was established that 249 cinema complexes with 661 screening halls were active in 31 provinces of the country, which in total had 121,952 seats. Given the number of Iranian cinema admissions in 1401 (2022/23), the average number of admissions per cinema hall is 20,684 people and the average sitting of an admission on each seat is 112 people. Also, given total box office in the 1401 (2022/23) cinema films sales table, average revenue per cinema hall was 635 million tomans and average revenue per cinema seat was 3.4 million.
Iran's largest cinemas
Among 294 multiplexes in Iran, Tehran's Megamall multiplex, with 18 halls, has the largest number of halls among Iran's cinemas. After the Megamall multiplex, the Lotus Mall cinema complex in Tehran and the Kourosh Cinema multiplex in Tehran jointly, with 13 halls, are in second place. Third place among Iran's largest cinema multiplexes, with 12 halls, is also jointly assigned to Iran Mall cinema in Tehran, the Atlas multiplex in Mashhad and the Mellat multiplex in Tehran. The Village Tourist cinema complex in Mashhad is also the last multiplex in Iran whose number of halls is double-digit.
Iran's highest-grossing cinemas
Kourosh Multiplex in Tehran, with more than 42.5 billion tomans in revenue and a considerable gap over the country's other cinemas, was Iran's highest-grossing cinema in 1401 (2022/23). Iran Mall Multiplex, with 24.6 billion tomans in revenue, ranks second. Third place among Iran's highest-grossing cinemas, with 14 billion tomans in revenue, went to Hoveyzeh Multiplex in Mashhad.
Conclusion
The Statistical Yearbook of Film Sales and Cinema in Iran in 1401 (2022/23) presents a clear and comprehensive picture of the state of the cinema industry in Iran in 1401 (2022/23). According to this report, 98 feature films consisting of 17 Art and Experience films, 59 Iranian films and 22 foreign films were screened in 1401 (2022/23). The best films of 1401 (2022/23) accounted for the bulk of admissions and box office revenue. The comedy film Enferadi, with more than 2.4 million admissions and 77.5 billion tomans in revenue, was the highest-grossing Iranian film of 1401 (2022/23) and the film with the most admissions of the year. Foreign feature films in 1401 (2022/23) also did not have a notable presence in cinemas.
From the standpoint of cinemas, the cinemas of Tehran province, with 206 billion tomans in revenue, accounted for nearly half of total cinema industry revenue in Iran. Kourosh Mall in Tehran, with 42 billion tomans in revenue, was the country's highest-grossing cinema, and Megamall Multiplex in Tehran, with 18 screens, had the largest number of cinema screens.
Overall, the information on Iranian cinema in 1401 (2022/23) in this report can be a useful guide for future policymaking and planning in the cinema industry in Iran. In such a way that precise analysis of these statistics and data plays a useful and effective role in identifying the opportunities and challenges ahead and adopting the measures needed to remove obstacles and grow the cinema industry as cultural and creative industries.
Machine-translated from Persian by Namafar; the Persian original is authoritative. Read the original in Persian