Global movie ticket sales soared to record levels last year as foreign markets continued to show a growing appetite for Hollywood fare.

Overall ticket sales climbed 6 percent to $34.7 billion, fueled mainly by growth in international box-office revenue, according to a report by the Motion Picture Association of America, the chief lobbying arm for the major studios.

International ticket sales reached $23.9 billion, up 6 percent compared with 2011 and 32 percent over five years ago, driven by growth in Russia, Brazil and China, which surpassed Japan as the world’s largest international box-office market for movies, the MPAA said in its annual survey of the industry.

Last year also marked the first that digital screens surpassed analog screens worldwide. More than two-thirds of the world’s nearly 130,000 cinema screens are now digital.

“It’s a powerful reminder of just how much movies matter, ” said Christopher J. Dodd, chairman of the MPAA.

 


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