CANACINE Report

CANACINE Report

| Logbook | News |

The National Chamber of the Film Industry has just published its annual box office report, and after reviewing it, several reflections emerged that we would like to share.

1. Fewer moviegoers

The first thing that stands out is that the national box office has not recovered the levels it had before the pandemic, and the gap is concerning: movie theater attendance in Mexico in 2025 is 42.2% lower than in 2019. Although ticket prices are higher than they were then, once adjusted for inflation, prices have remained relatively stable, so cost is not the main reason.

Another immediate argument relates to streaming services, which multiplied during the pandemic, expanding viewing options and perhaps discouraging many people from going to theaters. However, when reviewing historical data from recent years, there is also a 6.9% decline compared to the 2024 box office (which itself had already declined compared to 2023).

So, although the multiplication of screens surely plays a role, the decline in movie theater attendance in Mexico cannot be explained by that factor alone. Other contributing reasons may include a less attractive film offering for Mexican audiences or the country’s economic situation, as Mexico has experienced several years of low economic growth.

In any case, we believe it is important to share these data and reflections with those of us seeking to tell stories or collaborate in bringing them to the screen.

2. Top-grossing films

According to CANACINE data, the two highest-grossing films in Mexico were live-action remakes of properties that were originally animated: in first place Lilo & Stitch (which, by contrast, ranked fourth worldwide), and in second place How to Train Your Dragon (eighth worldwide).

A sequel, the new Jurassic Park film, ranked third, followed by two animated films: Minecraft and Zootopia 2 (which is also a sequel).

In summary: the top 5 at the Mexican box office was dominated by intellectual properties that are not original works — remakes, sequels, or, in the case of Minecraft, a video game adaptation. That says something about us.

3. Mexican cinema

Box office attendance for Mexican films is dramatically lower compared to global box office conditions prior to the pandemic. In this case, attendance is 69% lower. Even more striking is that market participation represents only 4.4% of total box office revenue (before the pandemic it exceeded 9%).

As mentioned in the first section, the reasons for this decline are likely multifactorial: from unfavorable screening times and limited screen availability to content offerings that may not have been as attractive to audiences.

Regarding the top 5 Mexican films, it is worth highlighting that third place is occupied by Soy Frankelda by Cinema Fantasma.

Analyzing box office performance and releases (as well as broadcast television schedules and streaming platform catalogs or premieres) is one of those ongoing tasks that audiovisual creators must continually undertake, both to understand audience behavior and studio responses, and to better grasp how the industry is evolving at both national and global levels.

You can open the report and analyze it in more detail at canacine.com.

Note: The report indicates that its data may vary slightly from IMCINE’s annual report, as the latter uses additional information sources.