A. Guttmann
Research Lead covering media
Film industry in Latin America - statistics & facts
Latin America is the beacon of hope for filmed entertainment worldwide. Why? Because it has potential. While the larger markets in the region are not yet ready to boast revenue figures comparable to the ones recorded in the U.S. or China, at least three of them are in fact considered the fastest-growing filmed entertainment markets worldwide. This alone translates to a likely increase in investments in the region, focusing on Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil as the top destinations. Yet, the Latin American movie sector is still in a slow recovery from the COVID-19 lockdowns that emptied theaters from Punta Arenas to Tijuana.
The film industry in Latin America is far from dying, in fact the region shows a good deal of potential in terms of both supply and demand. While the recovery to pre-pandemic levels is slow, the Latin American movie industry is no different to other, more prominent global movie-making markets. This promising growth is a solid reason to invest in film-making in the region and to explore the local markets for production and acting talent alike.
Domestic movie production grows but audiences slow to catch up
The Argentinian film production industry saw very good results in 2022. In fact, the country seems to have beaten the COVID-19 hiatus and kicked off with full force, having released the highest number of domestic movies that year. It was also evident that Argentinians were eager to view home productions, with attendance figures showing significant improvement. Colombian movie production has also experienced growth, surpassing the figures recorded in pre-pandemic times, with ticket sales to domestic titles also on the up. Meanwhile, in Mexico and Brazil the industry is experiencing some setbacks. The number of new domestic movie releases in Mexico has grown compared to 2021, however, the attendance at domestic productions represents only 18 percent of its pre-pandemic glory. In Brazil, the number of domestic-movie ticket sales accounted for 16 percent of the 2019 figure.How the film industry is faring across the region
In general, LATAM’s box office gross totaled about 1.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, with Mexico alone holding over 37 percent of that pie. Mexico generated more than the combined revenue of the markets ranked second and third: Brazil and Argentina. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mexico also had by far the highest number of movie tickets sold per capita in Latin America. For comparison, the other countries in the top five had averages below one ticket per capita. The flip side of the coin is how much viewers paid to see a film on the big screen in each market. Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Brazil, and Honduras had, on average, some of the most affordable movie tickets in Latin America in 2022, with prices below four U.S. dollars. Uruguay and Panama led the ranking on the other side of the scale, with close to six dollars per ticket.The film industry in Latin America is far from dying, in fact the region shows a good deal of potential in terms of both supply and demand. While the recovery to pre-pandemic levels is slow, the Latin American movie industry is no different to other, more prominent global movie-making markets. This promising growth is a solid reason to invest in film-making in the region and to explore the local markets for production and acting talent alike.
