UK cinema going at an all time high

By Katherine MacColl

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CINEMA�going in the UK is proving more popular than ever. Figures�from the year 2000 show that�last year�saw the highest attendances since 1974. And, the Cinema Advertising Association (CAA) expects cinema attendance in the UK this year to grow even further to over 143 million.

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2001 has already got off to a bumper start with the much heralded Cast Away, starring Tom Hanks, Ang Lee's fabled Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and the follow-up to the Silence of the Lambs, due out in February.

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But why was 2000 so special for movie fans Just what were the films�that attracted the crowds

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Other�popular films of 2000 were�Julia Robert's Erin Brochovich,�Before Night Falls and Steven Soderbergh's Traffic.

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The biggest turkey of 2000 was surely All Saints' movie Honest,�which came out in May. This suffered the indignity of being yanked from cinemas just three days into its run.

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Perhaps one of the reasons for the increased attendance figures is the number of new multiplex cinemas in the UK. Two-thirds of Britain's 3,000-odd screens are�now in multiplexes.�And, over 200 of these multiplex sites have only been open since 1985. People go to these entertainment centres watch a movie, eat a meal and play a game of bowls all in one night.

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