The 2013 Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) achieved record box office revenue thanks to more paid admissions, VIFF executive director Jacqueline Dupuis told Business in Vancouver October 17.
Dupuis would not disclose how much VIFF raised at the box office but said that it was about 10% more than in 2011, which was the previous record.
Fewer people attended VIFF films this year than did last year but the number of filmgoers beat VIFF officials' expectations.
Dupuis said that 130,000 people saw the 341 films that screened at this year's festival.
Before the festival started, VIFF director Alan Franey told Business in Vancouver that he expected 120,000 attendees this year, down 15% from about 140,000 people in 2012, because this year's festival was showing 13% fewer films and had less access to a core venue.
Cineplex Odeon Corp.'s International Village was VIFF's main venue in 2013; VIFF was able to use three of the venue's 12 screens for 10 days.
VIFF was able to use the now-closed Granville 7 theatre complex in 2012 for its entire run.
"Cineplex was only interested in us being there for what they consider a normal period of time for a film festival," Franey said. "We're longer than a regular-length film festival."
The 515 total screenings at VIFF this year was below the 567 screenings that Franey told BIV in September that he expected to have at this year's festival.
VIFF's filmgoers had to adapt to other new venues, in addition to International Village, to make it to those screenings. In 2012, the festival also used the now-closed Ridge Theatre.
An agreement with Simon Fraser University enabled VIFF to use its Goldcorp Centre for the Arts in the Woodwards Building.
In exchange for discounted rental rates at that venue, VIFF agreed to hold six "special" screenings, which were mostly meant for students, at SFU's Burnaby and Surrey campuses.
