Iranian Cinema Experiencing Prolific Output

A total of 38 movies were submitted for participation in the Fajr Film Festival of 2020 and eventually 28 films were screened at the 10-day event (from Feb. 1 to 11), Financial Tribune reported.

In the last fiscal year (March 2018-19), 112 movies were produced in Iran compared with 107 movies in the year ending March 2018. 

Although movie production costs have increased significantly, the so-called painkillers like tax exemption for show business in Iran have helped boost the production of movies and TV series. 

Iranian cinema is the product of private and public capital. The exclusion of a number of private sector producers mostly active in the 1980s and 1990s freed up space for a couple of production companies whose movies were mostly set in cities and apartments with genres restricted to popular comedies. 

The private sector has rarely been ambitious about making big-budget movies in recent years, the Persian daily Iran reported.

Latest Iranian box office data show 2.76 trillion rials ($20.53 million) were earned during the first 10 months of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2019-Jan. 20) to register an increase of 578.13 billion rials ($4.29 million) or 26.48% compared with last year’s similar period.

A total of 66 movie titles were released in Iranian theaters during the period under review and 24.14 million people went to the movies, according to data published in www.panel.cinemashahr.ir—the official Iranian cinema website providing detailed information on box office earnings to the public.

The number of moviegoers witnessed a year-on-year decrease of 3.15% during the period.

The average cinema ticket prices stood at 114,385 rials ($0.85), up by 26,799 rials ($0.2) or 30.6% year-on-year.

The above figures indicate that the rise in box office earnings stems from the increase in ticket prices and not in the number of moviegoers.

Iranian box offices earned close to 2.4 trillion rials ($17.84 million) during the last Iranian year (ended March 20), to register an increase of about 25% compared to earnings in the year before. 

As a report by the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture shows, 79 movies were released in theaters last year.

According to Panel.cinemashahr.ir, Iranian cinemas attracted more than 28 million people last year, which shows a more than 22% increase compared with the year before.

Each Iranian goes to the movies 0.3 times per year on average, according to a report by the Persian economic daily Donya-e-Eqtesad.