World Cup blamed for cinema flop

Fête du Cinéma attendance figures down 30% on last year as customers prefer sunbathing and football to watching a film

HOT weather and the World Cup have been blamed for poor attendance figures at this year's Fête du Cinéma.

Figures released by the Fédération Nationale des Cinémas Français show a 30% decline in ticket sales compared with last year.

Organisers had been hoping to match or beat last year's 4.6 million figure for the week-long event which ended last Friday.

Some 3.2 million people took advantage of the cut-price deal, which allows people to see any number of films for just €3 each after they buy one screening at the full rate.

The FNCF also said there had not been enough big-name films to attract viewers this time, with the exception of Shrek 4 which provided a boost towards the end of the festival.