Moviegoers Lose Screens as Portugal Hits Record-Low Cinema Attendance

Movie-goers in Leiria woke up to familiar yet unsettling news: one more multiplex has switched off its projectors, adding to a nationwide wave of closures that is rearranging Portugal’s cultural map.

Quick Takeaways

• Seven screens at LeiriaShopping go dark, two weeks after similar shutdowns in Guarda and Caldas da Rainha

• The retreat of Cineplace, once the country’s second-largest exhibitor, leaves dozens of Portuguese municipalities without commercial film projection

• 10.9 million spectators in 2025 – the lowest attendance since 1996 if the pandemic years are excluded

• Government task-force promises remedies by March, but concrete measures remain under wraps

Another City, Same Story

When the lights dimmed in LeiriaShopping’s multiplex last week, the shopping centre’s management blamed “a decision beyond our control.” The company operating the venue, Cineplace, is working through a Plano Especial de Revitalização (PER) and has been systematically shuttering screens that no longer turn a profit. In Leiria’s case, the departure wipes out seven theatres that had served the community since 2010.

What Local Audiences Lose

Leiria is luckier than some towns: residents can still catch new releases at the CinemaCity complex or at the municipal José Lúcio da Silva and Miguel Franco theatres. Yet the gap left by a mainstream multiplex means fewer show-times for blockbuster premières, limited access for people without a car, and reduced bargaining power to host festivals or special events.

A Shrinking Network From North to South

Cineplace’s Leiria exit is part of a wider retreat. Over the past thirteen months, the chain has:

• Closed complexes in Portimão, Guia and Funchal

• Vacated four screens in Viana do Castelo after the mall sought another use for the space

• Submitted a request to repurpose part of its Braga multiplex; six of twelve rooms could disappear next

Meanwhile, market leader NOS Lusomundo Cinemas also pruned its estate, walking away from MaiaShopping, Tavira Grand Plaza, Fórum Viseu and, most spectacularly, the 12-screen Alvaláxia in Lisbon, soon to become a Sporting CP branded “immersive experience.” The combined effect is an increasingly patchy cinema map that forces audiences in interior districts to travel long distances for a Saturday night film.

Numbers That Tell the Tale

According to the Instituto do Cinema e Audiovisual (ICA), Portuguese cinemas sold 10.9 million tickets in 2025, an 8.2 % drop from 2024 and the worst performance in three decades outside the COVID shutdowns. Box-office revenue fell to €70.5 M, while domestic productions attracted just 229 455 spectators—less than half of the previous year’s tally. NOS still commands more than 68 % of ticket sales, but even the industry leader labels several locations “structurally loss-making.” Cineplace’s share languished below 7 % in 2025, jeopardising its long-term solvency.

Why Cinemas Are Struggling

Several forces converge:

Streaming giants have cemented themselves in Portuguese living rooms, offering day-and-date releases at a fraction of a family’s cinema bill.

Inflation-strained households weigh a €10 ticket against cheaper home entertainment.

Malls built in the 1990s now need costly digital overhauls; owners prefer brands that can pay higher rent per square metre.

Cineplace’s PER, approved in 2021, bought time but did not fix underlying debt, leading creditors—such as Algarve Shopping—to file for insolvency in January 2026.

Government Caught Between Heritage and the Market

Culture Minister Margarida Balseiro Lopes convened a working group in November to study “declassifications” and propose a rescue blueprint. The panel includes the Inspeção-Geral das Atividades Culturais (IGAC) and the ICA. While its conclusions are due by the end of March, the ministry already signalled two funding tools:

• SCRI.PT programme – €350 M for film and audiovisual projects between 2026-2029, with €50 M annually earmarked for production and distribution.

• A beefed-up Cultural Patronage regime raising corporate tax deductions to 1 % of turnover and a 140 % deduction multiplier for cinema donors.Industry insiders applaud the effort but warn that no fiscal incentive will persuade exhibitors to operate in sparsely populated areas without structural support such as rent relief or public-private programming partnerships.

What Viewers Can Do Now

Though the national network is thinning, film buffs still have options:

• Check municipal theatres: many receive ICA grants to show Portuguese and European titles at reduced prices.

• Explore cine-clubes – volunteer-run clubs in cities like Coimbra, Loulé or Viseu curate classics otherwise absent from commercial screens.

• Keep an eye on itinerant cinema vans: revamped trucks with 4K projectors are popping up in inland villages under EU-backed cultural cohesion funds.

Looking Ahead

Every closure fuels the debate over whether cinema-going can remain a mass habit in Portugal or will morph into a niche pastime. Streaming may dominate living rooms, but communal viewing still carries social and economic value—especially for towns where a multiplex doubles as a community hub. The next few months will reveal whether the government’s task-force can craft a package robust enough to coax exhibitors back into underserved regions, or if the curtain has permanently fallen on the big screen for swathes of the country.