‘There’s a lot to like’: Australia’s renewed love affair with the cinema set to continue in 2024

Don’t call it comeback, but Australian cinemas had a particularly strong 2023.

Australians returned to the movies in droves this year, spending $986 million at the box office, with the much touted Barbenheimer double-header just one peak during a movie-going season that saw numerous records smashed.

With these numbers rolling in, the bleak days of the pandemic seem a distant memory. In 2020, when cinemas were shut for extended periods, and the idea of sitting in an enclosed room with dozens of others wasn’t an appealing one, the Australian box office took just $401 million.