Money up, moviegoers down at the 2004 box office

Box office receipts soared to a new record in 2004, although the actual number of moviegoers declined for a second year in a row.

Movies took in $9.4 billion in 2004 at the domestic box office, according to tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. The annual revenue was lagging behind 2003 going into the final weeks, but “Meet the Fockers” rang up a surprising $162.5 million in ticket sales over the last two weeks of the year.

Previous estimates this week had the 2004 total at $9.23 billion, ahead of 2003’s $9.17 billion but behind the previous record of $9.27 billion set in 2002.

But the new record gross was due more to rising ticket prices than attendance.

Factoring in the nationwide average ticket price of $6.22, attendance fell about 1.7 percent in 2004 to 1.51 billion. Attendance in 2003 was 1.54 billion, down 4.3 percent from 2002. The average ticket price last year was $6.03.

Analysts say the two-year decline is no cause for alarm because 2002 was an exception with such blockbuster hits as the first “Spider-Man” film and “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”

That year also included the latest installments in three huge franchises: “Star Wars,” “Harry Potter” and “Lord of the Rings.”

“This is a great year,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, said of 2004. “We saw such massive increases in revenue and attendance in 2001 and 2002, there is just no way we’re going to see increases sustained at that rate.”