Russia's Box Office Predicted to Reach a Record $1.3 Billion in 2012

MOSCOW -- Based on the first six months’ figures, Russia’s box office is predicted to reach a record $1.3 billion in 2012, which would also signify a 13 percent increase from last year.

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In January through June, the country’s box office reached $682.5 million, according to the industry publication Kinobizness Segodnya (Film Business Today). No figure is available for comparison, as prior to this year, Russia’s box office was measured in December through November periods before switching to a calendar year.

However, the publication predicts that the entire year’s figure is likely to reach $1.3 billion, which would set an all-time record. That would be a 13 percent increase from $1.15 billion, which all the theatrical releases grossed in Russia in 2011.

Meanwhile, the increase in box office revenues was largely due to increases in ticket prices. In the first six months of 2012, the average ticket price was 238 roubles ($7.35), compared with 200 roubles ($6.18) in the corresponding period of 2011, according to the research company Movie Research.

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In January through June 2012, local fare grossed $114.2 million, which corresponds to 16.7 percent of the total, a slight increase from 14.5 percent in the December 2010 through November 2011 period.

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, distributed by Central Partnership, became Russia’s highest grossing movie in the first half of 2012, grossing $46.5 million.