According to theInstituto do Cinema Audiovisual (ICA), these data reflect “a year marked by profound constraints” in cinema going, due to the covid-19 pandemic, and whose restrictive measures have “deeply affected the normal functioning of cinema venues”.

The ICA revealsthat in 2020 cinemas had 3.77 million viewers, while in 2019 15.5 million tickets had been sold. Box office revenues stood at €20.4 million, a quarter of the figure for 2019, a year that totalled €83.1 million. Although still provisional, the data attests to an overall drop of 75 percent, confirming that 2020 was the worst year for movie screening in the theatre at least since the ICA systematised the statistical data reported by the exhibitors.

In 2020, because of the first period of confinement decreed in Portugal, movie theatres - as well as all cultural activity with an audience - were closed between mid-March and early June. The reopening took place gradually in the following weeks, but the drop in audience and revenues varied monthly between 60 and 90 percent, either due to the decrease in Portuguese consumption, the reduction in screenings or the offer of films being shown.