Barcelona breaks another theatre record: 3.17 million spectators and 103 million at the box office

Audience growth is moderate but sufficient to set a new high. There were around 40,000 more attendees than in the 2024-2025 season, when 3.13 million were recorded. Revenue, however, is advancing much faster: it reached exactly 103,093,801 euros, 9.5% more than in the previous season.

Theatres were also fuller. Average occupancy rose by more than three points to 67%, after a season with 1,289 productions and 13,196 performances. The data confirm that exceeding three million spectators in 2024 was not a one-off phenomenon: Barcelona has now spent three consecutive seasons above that threshold.

Large-scale productions explain part of the result. El Mago Pop, at the Teatre Victòria, topped the ranking of most-attended shows, followed by The Phantom of the Opera at the Tívoli and Improshow at the Teatreneu. Other titles with the largest audiences included L'amor venia amb taxi at the Romea, and Hamlet, with Albert Pla and Peyu, at the Coliseum.

But growth is not concentrated only in the large venues on Paral·lel or in the city centre. Venues with up to 200 seats brought together 421,865 spectators, 13% more than the previous year. Their takings increased even more, by 20%, reaching 6.7 million euros, and their average occupancy reached 65.6%.

The figure is relevant to the cultural fabric of neighbourhoods because these small venues depend less on major musicals and long-running productions. Their growth indicates that the increase in audiences is also reaching smaller-format spaces and a much more fragmented programme.

Local production also retains a majority share. Of productions staged during the season, 58% were Catalan productions and 49% were by Catalan authors. In terms of language, 41% of shows were performed in Catalan and 32% in Spanish.

The audience distribution widens that difference: 49% of spectators chose performances in Catalan, compared with 35% who attended shows in Spanish. ADETCA also notes growth among young spectators, although it has not yet released a sufficiently detailed age breakdown to measure how much each group has increased.

This year there is also a more complete picture outside Barcelona. For the first time, joint data have been presented on Catalonia's professional performing-arts activity: 4,081,780 spectators, 115.6 million euros in revenue and an average occupancy rate of 67%. This means that approximately three out of every four spectators recorded across Catalonia attended a performance in Barcelona.

The assessment was made public alongside the start of the new season and the 25th edition of Catalunya aixeca el teló. Barcelona thus begins from a historic high, although the sector still has unresolved issues such as public funding, bureaucracy, audience renewal and the survival of the most vulnerable venues.