European cinemas were battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, with box office falling across the continent, resulting in billions in lost revenue.
Figures released Thursday by the International Union of Cinemas (UNIC), a cinema industry body, showed a box office drop of 70.6 percent across Europe in 2020, with theatrical revenues plunging a total of $7.5 billion (€6.2 billion) across 38 European territories.
The declines comes after a strong 2019, which saw admissions top 1.34 billion across Europe—the highest figure in 15 years — and box-office figures hit $10.65 billion (€8.8 billion).
Although government response to the coronavirus pandemic varied widely between European countries — nations like Italy and Spain introducing a swift and severe.