First the numbers and the (good) statistical games: Last Thursday, when the Film Distributors Society of Greece organized the first “Film Festival” with a single ticket for just 2 euros, 110,934 tickets were sold across the country. To understand the impact of the initiative, note that on a typical Thursday in 2022, only 13,000 tickets are sold, while before the pandemic (2019), the corresponding average was in the region of 22,000 tickets.

The success of “Jorty” also lowered the box office for four days (Thursday to Sunday), when the bar rose to 184,926 viewers, while good four days usually reach a modest 90,000 (an increase of more than 100%). . It’s the second-best performance during the pandemic, just 2,195 tickets short of the first four-day showing of Spider-Man last Christmas, when 150,813 tickets (out of 187,121) were sold for that particular Marvel show alone. the days that began with “Holiday” coincided with the October 28 holiday, making the overall effect even more significant.

At a price of just €2, 110,934 tickets were sold nationwide, while on a typical Thursday in 2022, only 13,000 tickets are sold.

“This is the all-time theater attendance record in the country since the data was recorded,” Yiannis Kalfakakos, chairman of the EDIKTE steering committee and general manager of distribution company Tanweer Alliances, tells me. “Obviously, the bet was won,” he continues, “and it was threefold: first, to do something together as an industry, that is, to have everyone participate. Secondly, to get people off the couch, to remind them what theater and the magic of cinema are, and thirdly, so that they get rid of fear after the shock of the pandemic, feel comfortable again, enjoying a movie in a crowded hall. “.

Yes, there were a lot of theater owners last Thursday who were forced to turn people away when, as the years went by, multiplexes saw sold-out films many hours before they were shown. Should we blame this solely on the lure of a very low price, or was there something else? “Of course, the price was a strong motivation, but I think this year people have a strong desire to participate in mass events after two years of the pandemic,” says Irini Suganidou, managing director of Feelgood Entertainment and a member of EDIKTE. Will we see similar initiatives again in the near future? “We want the Film Festival to become an institution, and I think that if we hold it more than once a year, it will lose its significance,” argues Mr. Yiannis Kalfakakos. On the contrary, Irini Suganidou praises the scenario with more regular “Holidays” throughout the year and adds that the public already has specials available for them, depending on the day or time of the show, as well as the age of the viewer.