Home alone in Europe

THERE was a time, back in the 1970s, when Europeans went to the cinema more often than Americans. No more. On average, Europeans now go to the cinema less than twice a year, compared with just under five times in the United States. And, when they do go, they are far more likely to see the output of Hollywood than of their local industry. In France, American films now account for 60% of box-office revenues; in Britain, for an astonishing 95%. In real terms, the European industry is a mere ninth of the size it was at the end of the second world war. Where has it gone wrong?