Entertainment

From going to the movies to renting a video; from watching the game to betting on it, entertainment includes a wide variety of activities. How much we entertain ourselves has much to do with the overall economy. During good times, we tend to spend more on entertainment; during bad times, we spend less. As such, entertainment is one of the more sensitive sectors to prevailing economic conditions.

A good indicator of expenditures on entertainment is household spending on recreation, which grew 26.8% from 1997 to 2002. This compares to overall household spending, which increased 20.4% over the same period. The average Canadian household spent $3,537 on recreation in 2002/03.

The entertainment budget of many households includes going out to the movies. Movie theatres, including drive-ins, sold 119.6 million tickets in the 2000/01 fiscal year, reaching a 41-year high. Attendance increased for nine straight years, but the rate of growth has fallen in recent years. After posting a growth rate of 14% in 1998/99, attendance rose just 6% in 1999/00 and only 0.3% in 2000/01.

Reduced attendance at older cinemas has been offset by increases at huge new multiplex cinemas, which have contributed significantly to gains during the last decade. Recently, 49 of these multiplex cinemas have opened across the country. They reported a total attendance of 25.2 million, just over one-fifth of total attendance at all movie theatres and drive-ins in 2000/01.

The attraction to these new, larger theatres was at the expense of older theatres. About 11% fewer moviegoers went through the doors of the older large theatres in 2000/01 than in the previous year. This compares with a 5% decline in 1999/00.

Even greater declines in attendance were incurred by older small theatres (‑29%) and medium-sized theatres (‑14%).

Gambling is another source entertainment. In 2002, about 73% of Canadian households spent money on gambling.

Gambling participation and expenditure rates increase with household income. For example, 54.6% of households with incomes of less than $20,000 gambled in 2002 and, for those reporting such expenditure, they spent an average of $197. Equivalent figures for households with incomes of $80,000 or more were 79.3% and $536. Average gambling expenditure per person 18 and over in 2001 was $447 nationally.

Employment in the gambling industry has risen from 12,000 in 1992 to 42,000 in 2002.