Alexander Golutva, deputy head of the Federal Culture Agency, said box-office sales aggregated $300 million this year and would reach $650 million by 2010, indicating the return of audiences to theaters.
He attributed the tendency to an increase in the number of modern, international-standard movie theaters. The nation will boast 1,000 by year's end, reaching 1,500 in 2008.
Golutva also said the share of Russian movies in the total number of film productions screened in this country had also grown spectacularly in the past decade and that out of the 230 big-screen films currently running in Russia, 42 were domestic fare - 25% above the 2006 target. This is "an important indication of the Russian film market's dynamic development," the official said.
As an example of a domestic box-office hit, Golutva cited Fyodr Bondarchuk's blockbuster "Devyataya rota" ("The Ninth Company") about the Soviet war in Afghanistan. The movie, released only a month ago, has grossed almost $15 million by now, beating domestic box-office records.
Golutva said, however, that small towns and villages still had limited access to digital format films due to the lack of appropriate screening equipment.
