Russia Box Office 2015: Revenue Tumbles Below $1B for First Time Since 2010 Amid Weak Ruble

A week ruble prevented Russia’s total box office in 2015 from reaching $1 billion for the first time since 2010, even though ruble revenue set a new record.

In 2015, the average exchange rate was 62.5 rubles for one U.S. dollar, compared with 36 rubles a year before.

The total box-office gross reached 48 billion rubles, according to Kinobusiness Today, or $768 million at the average exchange rate for 2015, compared with $1.28 billion in 2014 and $1.37 billion in 2013, the highest box-office figure ever in the country.

The local-currency box-office gross was up 4 percent from 2014, driven by a 4 percent hike in ticket prices, according to Kinobusiness Today. The ruble box-office gross set a new record, breaking the previous mark achieved in 2014.

Minions, which raked in 1.9 billion rubles ($32.8 million), was the year’s top-grossing movie in ruble terms. However, as the exchange rate fluctuated substantially throughout the year, Avengers: Age of Ultron, which took in 1.7 billion rubles, was on top in dollar revenue, grossing $33.3 million.

The top 10 also included Furious 7, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World, Terminator Genisys, The Martian, Hotel Transylvania 2, Fifty Shades of Grey and Inside Out.

No local movie made the top 10, as the share of Russian films dropped to 16.4 percent from 17 percent in 2014 and 19 percent in 2013 despite authorities’ attempts to boost homegrown fare at the box office.

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