Film and video are in the spotlight this month, as the 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival is set to roll from September 5 to 15, 2024. The festival, which takes place in the heart of downtown Toronto, is 11 days of Canadian and international film screenings, special events and opportunities to connect with filmmakers and film lovers alike.
Today we’re screening our own special feature, a data snapshot of film and video in Canada.
Canadians studying film
There were 71,019 students enrolled in visual and performing arts programs in Canada during the 2021/2022 academic year. Among them, 8,001 were studying film/video and photographic arts, 5,124, drama/theatre arts and stagecraft, and 429, other visual and performing arts.
In 2021/2022, enrolment in all these programs was down slightly compared with the previous year. Only film/video and photographic arts programs have seen an increase in students enrolled since 2009/2010, when we first started tracking the current data series.
Film and video rebound in 2024
In the first quarter of 2024, the film and video subdomain experienced a significant increase (+11.0%) in nominal gross domestic product, after two consecutive quarterly declines (-5.8% in the fourth quarter of 2023 and -16.4% in the third quarter of 2023).
The rebound was driven by the end of the simultaneous Hollywood writers and actors strikes, which ended in September 2023 for the writers’ strike and in November 2023 for the actors’ strike.
Jobs gained in the film and video subdomain
In the first quarter of 2024, the number of jobs in the film and video subdomain grew 7.6% (+4,216 jobs). This was the main contributor to a 0.3% increase in the broader culture sector, which totalled 640,168 jobs.
Catch a movie in theatres
Following COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions and shutdowns, operating revenue for the motion picture theatres industry totalled $1.5 billion in 2022, up 171.4% from 2020.
The cost of going to see a movie in theatres has increased over the last several years. The average ticket price for a movie was $11.94 in 2022, up from $9.53 in 2020.
In June 2024, there were 733 business locations across Canada in the motion picture and video exhibition industry, which includes cinemas, drive-in theatres and film festival exhibitors.
For more data, tools, reports and information on culture, arts, heritage and sport in Canada, check out the Culture statistics portal.
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Contact information
For more information, contact the Statistical Information Service (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).