The ‘Cinema em Festa’, scheduled from Monday to Wednesday, is an annual initiative by the Portuguese Association of Cinema Companies (APEC), offering tickets at 3.5 euros for all films currently playing in participating cinemas across Portugal.
An APEC representative stated that more than 420 cinema screens across mainland Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira are participating, except for screens in the districts of Beja and Portalegre.
“Since participation in the ‘Cinema em Festa’ is voluntary, the absence of these two districts is due to the lack of cinemas in those areas choosing to participate. These locations typically have auditoriums offering occasional film screenings,” the association explained.
According to the latest data from the Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual (ICA), as of April, Portugal has 528 cinema screens with a total seating capacity of 101,557, with NOS Cinemas holding the largest market share at 41.3%.
An ICA source mentioned that among the 18 districts in mainland Portugal, only Bragança and Portalegre do not have privately managed venues, as they are operated by their respective municipal councils. Beja “has just a small privately managed cinema.”
This year, ‘Cinema em Festa’ has partnered with the Portuguese Academy of Cinema to re-screen the feature films nominated for the Sophia Award for Best Film during these three days.
Alongside current releases, films like ‘Grand Tour’ by Miguel Gomes, ‘A Flor do Buriti’ by João Salaviza and Renée Nader Messora, ‘O Teu Rosto Será o Último’ by Luís Filipe Rocha, and ‘Revolução (sem) Sangue’ by Rui Pedro Sousa will be shown.
Portuguese productions remaining in theaters include ‘A Savana e a Montanha’ by Paulo Carneiro, ‘Camarada Cunhal’ by Sérgio Graciano, the documentary ‘O palácio de cidadãos’ by Rui Pires, and ‘Sonhar com leões’ by Paolo Marinou-Blanco, which premiered this week.
APEC’s official page lists participating cinemas as those operated by NOS Cinemas, UCI, Cineplace, Castello Lopes, and Cinema City, as well as Cinebox (Castelo Branco), Cinema Trindade (Porto), Cinema Ideal and Cinema Fernando Lopes, both in Lisbon, Teatro Miguel Franco (Leiria), Auditório Salgado Zenha (Coimbra), Casa do Cinema de Coimbra, and Cinemax (Penafiel).
In a press release, APEC’s Director-General, Fernando Ventura, stated that the initiative aims to “bring together various cinema stakeholders in a project that contributes to the development of different aspects of Cinema in Portugal, particularly in direction, production, distribution, and exhibition.”
In 2024, according to ICA, the average cinema ticket price was 6.19 euros, with the cinema sector witnessing 11.8 million viewers and generating 73.3 million euros in box office revenue.
