Analysts are calling on UK theatres to play their part in investing in marketing to boost Christmas pantomime ticket sales after projections suggest losses of millions of pounds.
Bristol-based analytics company TRG Arts and Purple Seven have released a study that has highlighted the projected losses of the 2021-22 panto season.
The study revealed that if the current sales trajectory continued, sales for the season could fall by a predicted £22.7m.
As of July 2021, the study outlined how the Christmas Season was behind that of the 2019/20 season for a number of theatres across the UK.
“By the end of December 2020 advance ticket sales 2021/22 pantomime were 95,000 higher than the prior year and aggregate revenue up by £3.4m. However, this ‘postponement boost’ was short lived,” read the study.
The report then goes on to say that by the end of June 2021, aggregate sales were already behind by 311,000 tickets, affecting revenue which was down £5.8m.
TRG chief executive Jill Robinson said: “After 2020’s ‘cancelled’ Christmas, it might have been expected that the 2021/22 season would be a bumper one for the UK’s performing arts venues, fuelled by pent-up demand.
“Clearly early signs for panto and other festive productions are generally not positive, but with 20% of organisations pacing ahead of 2019 the picture is not entirely bleak. The strong early performance of ‘Blockbuster’ productions this Christmas demonstrates that those producers and venues making an investment in marketing are seeing a return on it.”
Robinson added: “There’s still a long way to go and with concerted action in every venue and collectively across the industry, this Christmas could still be a great one for the UK’s theatres.”
During the 2019-20 season, the 119 pantomimes included in the study sold slightly over three million tickets, with a value of £65.4m. By the end of June in the same year, theatres had already sold 27% of final tickets and taken 25% of final revenue.
The study reports that if the 2021-22 season follows the same trajectory, ticket sales will reduce by 1.3 million and revenue will fall by £22.7m.
Purple Seven managing director David Brownlee said: “It is no surprise that group sales have been challenging in a pandemic, but the scale of the fall for panto and other productions in the UK this year is dramatic.
“A substantial proportion of large groups are normally from schools. It’s quite understandable that academic institutions have had other priorities over the last 18 months, but for this generation who have missed out on so much already to also not have the chance to collectively enjoy a professional theatre production this Christmas is yet another cultural and learning experience lost to COVID-19.”
Image: Jamie Davies on Unsplash
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