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Listen to the article4 min, read by a synthetic voice

In brief

  • Cinemas recorded 67.7 million spectators in 2025, 35.5% fewer than before the pandemic, while box office fell 24.4% to 465.4 million euros from 615.6 million in 2019.

  • Spain held 129,352 concerts in 2025, up 7.3% on 2024 and 42% on 2019, with 36.96 million attendees including macrofestivals and 801.4 million euros in revenue.

  • Promusicae puts Spanish recorded-music revenue above 674 million euros, up 18.6% on 2024, with streaming accounting for 89% of sales.

  • Cantabria's cinema admissions fell 5.7% to 813,627 while its concerts rose 19.3% to 1,081, and the Balearic Islands sold 1.8 million tickets, 2.7% of the national total.

MadridPalmaSantander
Madrid, Palma, Santander · Spain

Cinema attendance keeps falling

Cinema attendance in Spain fell further in 2025, according to the Anuario SGAE 2026 of performing arts, music and audiovisuals, which the Fundación SGAE presented on Thursday, 15 October 2026 in Madrid. Cinemas recorded 67.7 million spectators, 35.5% fewer than before the pandemic, according to ABC. Box office revenue dropped 24.4% from 2019, falling from 615.6 million euros to 465.4 million, while screenings declined 12.7%, per EL PAÍS. The average Spaniard made 1.37 cinema visits during the year, which ABC describes as one of the weakest results in the recent series. The decline has continued even after health restrictions ended, and it has affected every Spanish region.

Change in spectators compared with 2019%
Cinema-35.5%
Popular music concerts29.5%
Cinema
-35.5 %
Popular music concerts
29.5 %

Data from the article text

Live music keeps climbing

Popular music concerts moved in the opposite direction. Spain held 129,352 concerts in 2025, 7.3% more than the previous year and 42% more than in 2019, with 28.4 million attendees, up 8.1% on 2024, according to El Confidencial. Counting macrofestivals, attendance reaches 36.96 million. Ticket revenue including macrofestivals reached 801.4 million euros, up 81.7% on 2019 according to EL PAÍS. The figures without macrofestivals differ between outlets: EL PAÍS gives 293.2 million euros, compared with 161.4 million in 2019, while ABC places the non-festival revenue near 350 million euros.

Change in revenue compared with 2019%
Cinema-24.4%
Live popular music81.7%
Cinema
-24.4 %
Live popular music
81.7 %

Data from the article text

Recorded music and the cinema slump

Recorded music follows a similar path. Promusicae puts Spanish recorded-music revenue above 674 million euros, up 18.6% on 2024, with digital formats taking 89% of sales, mostly through streaming. Physical sales still reached more than 62 million euros, and vinyl sales rose almost 28% year on year, making up 69% of physical formats. On screen, the three top-grossing films in Spain in 2025 were Lilo & Stitch, Jurassic World: El renacer and Avatar: Fuego y ceniza. The top Spanish film was Padre no hay más que uno, in its fifth installment by Santiago Segura, while La bola negra had passed 23 million euros at the box office according to Rentrak.

Rubén Gutiérrez del Castillo, director general of the Fundación SGAE, explained the trend this way:

“The growth was cut short by the pandemic, because we were recording a period of consolidation, small but stable.”

Rubén Gutiérrez del Castillo

He tied the decline in cinema to the rise of streaming platforms and changing consumption habits.

Regional divergence

In Cantabria, cinema admissions fell 5.7% to 813,627 in 2025, more than 49,000 fewer than a year earlier, and box office dropped 2.68% to 5.1 million euros. Over the same period, concerts rose from 906 to 1,081, a 19.3% increase, and concert revenue grew 21% to 3 million euros, though the region remains second from the bottom nationally on that measure. In the Balearic Islands, venues sold 1.8 million tickets, 2.7% of the national total, and box office reached 12.1 million euros, or 2.6%. Balearic residents made 1.47 cinema visits per person in the year, level with Catalonia and behind the Basque Country (1.48) and Madrid (1.98).

Cinema visits per person in 2025visits per year
Madrid1.98
Basque Country1.48
Balearic Islands1.47
Catalonia1.47
Madrid
1.98 visits per year
Basque Country
1.48 visits per year
Balearic Islands
1.47 visits per year
Catalonia
1.47 visits per year

Data from the article text

Performing arts and the yearbook

Nationally, performing arts staged more than 51,000 performances, passing 2019 levels for the first time, yet audiences remain below pre-pandemic numbers. In the Balearic Islands, 658 performances drew 85,914 spectators and 1.7 million euros, including 614 theatre performances, while 466 classical concerts drew 76,617 people. In Cantabria, performing arts supply and attendance fell 1.7% and revenue fell 1.5%. The report was presented at the Palacio Longoria in Madrid by SGAE president Antonio Onetti, alongside Juan José Solana, president of the Fundación SGAE, and Rubén Gutiérrez del Castillo. Solana described the yearbook, now in its 26th edition, as one of the sector's most stable and longest-running tools.

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Sources and context

  • eldiario.eson 15 Oct at 16:15Cantabrians go to the cinema and theatre less and less and to live concerts moreLos cántabros cada vez van menos al cine y al teatro y más a conciertos en directo · original in Spanish
  • europa presson 15 Oct at 15:47Cultural habits of the Balearic people: they are among those who go most often...Los hábitos culturales de los baleares: son de los que más veces van... · original in Spanish
  • europa presson 15 Oct at 14:58Cinema and performing arts lose spectators in Cantabria...El cine y las artes escénicas pierden espectadores en Cantabria... · original in Spanish
  • EL PAÍSon 15 Oct at 14:02Attendance at venues collapses in 2025, while the audience going to concerts growsLa asistencia a salas se derrumba en 2025, mientras crece el público que va a conciertos · original in Spanish
Santiago Segura
Director of Padre no hay más que uno, the top Spanish film of 2025

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Published on 15 Oct at 16:38.

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Text generated by AI from the reports of the publishers listed and checked automatically, with no human editor. How Pollar is made

In this text

Cinema attendance keeps fallingCinema attendance keeps fallingLive music keeps climbingLive music keeps climbingRecorded music and the cinema slumpRecorded music and the cinema slumpRegional divergenceRegional divergencePerforming arts and the yearbookPerforming arts and the yearbook

Based on reports by

eldiario.es, europa press, EL PAÍS, El Confidencial, ABC TU DIARIO EN ESPAÑOL, LaVanguardia

List of sources

Music · Madrid, Palma, and Santander

Cinema attendance falls 35.5% since 2019 as live popular music hits record highs

Cinema attendance in Spain stood 35.5% below 2019 levels in 2025, while live popular music drew 36.96 million people including macrofestivals, according to the SGAE yearbook.

Madrid
Palma
Santander

Ask about this text

AI text based on reports by eldiario.es, europa press, EL PAÍS and other publishers. Published on 15 Oct at 16:38.

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