Top EU Countries by Cinema Admissions Per Capita

Key Takeaways

• France recorded 2.28 cinema admissions per capita in 2025. France’s rate is the highest of the 25 EU countries with cinema admissions data.
• France’s cinema admissions fell by 24 million in 2025. That is a 14% decline from 2024.
• Ireland ranks second in cinema admissions per capita among the 25 EU countries with admissions data. Ireland’s rate reaches 1.97 cinema admissions per capita.
• Germany recorded the EU’s second-highest raw cinema admissions total in 2025. However, Germany’s cinema admissions per capita rate reaches only 1.10, below the EU27 average of 1.34.

Cinema Admissions Per Capita in EU Countries

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France Records the Highest Cinema Admissions Per Capita Among 25 EU Countries

Cinema admissions means the number of tickets sold. Meanwhile, cinema admissions per capita means how many times the average resident went to the cinema that year.

France recorded 2.28 cinema admissions per capita in 2025. France’s rate is the highest of the 25 EU countries with admissions data.

France’s lead in cinema admissions per capita traces to its subsidized cinema infrastructure. The CNC funds French film production through a tax on box-office tickets and broadcaster revenue. CNC stands for France’s National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image.

However, France posted the sharpest single-country cinema admissions decline in the EU in 2025. That is a 14% decline compared with 2024.

EU27 cinema admissions fell 5.7% overall in 2025. France’s cinema admissions decline of 14% was roughly 2.5 times steeper than that EU-wide drop.

France’s decline in cinema admissions traces to a weak year for US film releases in 2025. A shortage of strong domestic French productions also contributed to France’s decline in cinema admissions that year.

Germany recorded the EU’s second-highest raw cinema admissions total in 2025. Germany’s total admissions reached 91.9 million.

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Germany’s large raw cinema admissions total reflects its population. Germany’s population is the EU’s largest, at 83.6 million on 1 January 2025.

Germany’s raw cinema admissions grew 2% in 2025, from 90.1 million to 91.9 million. Germany was one of the few EU countries where cinema admissions rose that year, yet its cinema admissions per capita rate still trailed Ireland, Estonia, and Denmark.

Germany’s cinema admissions per capita rate reached only 1.10, well below the EU27 average of 1.34.

Ireland, Estonia, and Denmark each post higher cinema admissions per capita rates than Germany does, despite having far smaller populations:

• Ireland: 1.97 cinema admissions per capita
• Estonia: 1.75 cinema admissions per capita
• Denmark: 1.64 cinema admissions per capita

Ireland, Estonia, and Denmark each have a population under 6 million. Germany’s population is more than ten times larger than any of the three.

Ticket prices don’t explain the per-capita cinema admissions gap between Germany and Ireland, Estonia, and Denmark. Germany’s average ticket price reached €10.05 in 2025.

Denmark’s average ticket price reached roughly €14. That is the highest of the four, despite Denmark’s higher admissions per capita rate.

Cinema admissions per capita vary widely among the 25 EU countries with data, independent of population size. A country’s raw admissions total says little about how often its residents actually go to the cinema.