Cinema audiences drop dramatically as coronavirus restrictions bite

Box-office revenue in North America falls to its lowest level in two decades as cinemas adopt social distancing measures

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Cinema attendance in the US and around the world slumped dramatically last weekend, as the effects of the coronavirus outbreak began to bite.

In North America, box-office revenue dropped to its lowest level in two decades as audiences began to stay away. Variety reported that the total amount for Friday to Sunday in the US and Canada was about $55.3m, the worst result since September 2000, and a 45% drop from the weekend before. The top-performing film, Pixar's Onward, recorded a fall of 73.1% for a total of $10.53m. Box-office declines are typical for wide-release films, but, for comparison, Pixar's last original scripted animation, Coco, dropped by 45.8% at the same point in its run in 2017.