MOVIE TICKET SALES HIT 15-YEAR LOW IN '91

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, January 20, 1992                   TAG: 9201180268
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES                                LENGTH: Short
MOVIE TICKET SALES HIT 15-YEAR LOW IN '91
Despite a record holiday box office, the number of movie tickets sold in the United States last year hit a 15-year low of 968 million.
The final box office tally for 1991 was $4.85 billion, down about 3 percent from the $5 billion take the previous year, when 1.06 billion tickets were sold, according to figures compiled last week by Daily Variety.
A 5.5 percent rise in the average ticket price helped to minimize the damage and the 1991 dollar receipts were still the third-highest on record. Daily Variety said the national average ticket price rose from $4.75 in 1990 to $5.01 last year.
By mid-December, ticket sales were off 10 percent. But the year-end resurgence led by such hits as "Hook" and "Father of the Bride" narrowed the gap to 8 percent.
Daily Variety said several factors could explain the drop in movie attendance, including lower quality films and the recession.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB