New figures have revealed the most popular films at Maltese cinemas over 2020, with box office blockbusters and sequels bringing thousands to cinema screens amid COVID-19 restrictions.

Jumanji: The Next Level, a December 2019 sequel to the 2017 reboot of the beloved 90s film topped the list – with around 12,735 admissions. The film clearly benefitted from the COVID-19 pandemic –  with new releases in short supply.

Next up on the list was yet another sequel – the long-awaited return of the buddy-cop franchise ‘Bad Boys For Life’, which turned out to be the best-reviewed in the entire series. With bonafide stars like Will Smith and Martin Lawrence at the helm, the film managed to attract around 10,400 viewers.

With at least five other sequels or reboots dominating the list, the figures somewhat prove that name and brand recognition is still a major draw for Maltese viewers.

The rest of the list went as follows:

• 1917: 8,500 admissions
• Dolittle: 7,555 admissions
• Tenet: 6,506 admissions
• Playing with Fire: 6,290 admissions
• Sonic: The Hedgehog: 4,844 admissions
• Frozen II: 4,515 admissions
• Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn: 4,096 admissions
• Spies in Disguise: 3,701 admissions

In 2020, cinemas in Malta and Gozo projected 330 different film titles and registered a total of 165,475 admissions.

Foreign productions dominated the box office, generating 164,197 admissions with a total box office of 1,079,215. When it came to Maltese productions, most of which were short films, had 1,278 admissions with a total box office of 1,306.