Passion Helps Record Year At Global Box-Office

Mel Gibson's The Passion Of The Christ has helped boost international box-office admissions in 2004, with a predicted 8.5 million visits to the cinema by the end of the year (04).

Movies including The Passion Of The Christ and HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN have helped increase global cinema takings by seven per cent to a predicted $22.8 billion (GBP12.6 billion) in 2004, reports research group INFORMA.

America accounts for 44 per cent of all global box office takings - with Americans expected to watch an average 5.74 films each in 2004 compared to an international average of 1.33 cinema visits per person.

Global box office revenues are forecast to increase to $25.6 billion (GBP14 billion) by 2010 - nearly twice the amount in 1995.