Industry News

Pantomimes smash tickets record – Oh yes they did!

Ticket receipts for pantomimes broke the £60m (€67.8m/$79.4m) mark in the UK for the first time last year.

New data also shows that the highest recorded average capacity for pantomimes was reached by selling an average of 76 per cent of seats.

The figures come from a study by arts consultant David Brownlee of 2016-17’s raw data of ticket sales, provided by performing arts membership organisation UK Theatre.

The rise in the income to over £60m was due to a £1.31 rise in average income per ticket, the data revealed. It marks an increase of 30 per cent from 2012, when the total income from pantomime ticket sales was £46m.

The study also found that average capacity had increased from 71 per cent of seats sold in 2012 to 76 per cent of seats sold in 2016.

However, due to the 200 fewer performances from 2015, the number of tickets issued dropped by four per cent.

Cinderella achieved the highest number of tickets issued across the UK, making it the most popular show in 2016-17. Dick Whittington and Jack and the Beanstalk closely followed it.

UK Theatre is due to release its second Benchmarking Report later this month, comparing all sales in its member theatres for the four years from 2013 to 2016, to identify any shifts and patterns over the period relating to all genres.

Image: Millfield Manager