In its sixteenth year of operating as a city public institution, Kinodvor reached a new milestone: for the first time, it recorded over 140,000 visitors.

The past year it also introduced a new program, which included as many as nineteen film events with adaptations for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences of different generations.

Kinodvor in numbers

In 2024, Kinodvor had 141,328 visitors at 2,031 screenings, watching 374 film programs, including an excellent attendance at Film under the Stars. The summer cinema, organized in cooperation with Ljubljana Castle, had 16,097 viewers. It is estimated that an additional 4,700 visitors watched films at four free screenings at the Open-Air Cinema at Congress Square. In 2024, 40,660 viewers attended the Kinobalon family program and Kinodvor's school program at 577 screenings. Of these, 16,544 attended 338 screenings of the Kinobalon regular program, the highest number so far, and 24,116 students at 239 school screenings. The Kinotrip program, prepared by young people for young people, was attended by 1,418 visitors at 12 individual events during the year and the Kinotrip festival. In 2025, we will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Kinotrip festival.

Most watched films in 2024

The most-watched film of the year was Wim Wenders' Perfect Days with 4,693 viewers. Over four thousand viewers were also recorded for the films Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos; 4,405 viewers) and There's Still Tomorrow (C'è ancora domani, Paola Cortellesi; 4,363 viewers). The top five in terms of viewership are rounded out by Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron (Kimitachi wa do ikiru ka) with 3,788 and Christopher Zalla's Radical (Radical) with 3,576 viewers.
Director Metka Dariš, who began her second term in April 2024, said: »Visitors continue to show us that Kinodvor is their cinema. We are proud that they trust us, and we thank everyone for visiting. They have been with us throughout the year: the exceptional attendance in the first half of the year was followed by excellent participation in summer at Film under the Stars, and the trend continued throughout autumn and winter, right up until the last day of the year. However, successful operation is not to be taken for granted. We are grateful to the founder for continuous support, the partners with whom we prepare a varied program, and above all the dedicated team of Kinodvor and its employees.«

Accessibility

Kinodvor has paid special attention to accessibility since the very beginning of its operation. Through numerous partnerships, they incorporate various audiences in their programs, including vulnerable groups from economically and socially weaker backgrounds, with specific health conditions and/or disabilities. The year 2024 was a turning point for Kinodvor, as they began the systematic and continuous removal of obstacles to including new audience groups by introducing a new workplace specifically dedicated to accessibility. In 2024, alongside nineteen film events with adaptations for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences of different generations, they also held the premiere of the Slovenian children's film Block 5 (Igrišča ne damo!) directed by Klemen Dvornik, which was accessible not only to the deaf and hard of hearing but also to the blind and visually impaired.

Plans for 2025

There will be no shortage of challenges in 2025 either: in July, they plan to renovate the restrooms and connecting rooms, which were last renovated in 2003, and so Kinodvor will be closed at that time.
Based on all the experience gained, they will continue to organize events for various vulnerable groups and further strive to ensure that the central city cinema remains and becomes an even more accessible and inclusive space for the broadest possible community.

For Kinodvor – while continuing to fulfil its mission as a city cinema – the biggest challenge remains the realization of joint plans with the City of Ljubljana: the construction of a miniplex in the Ajdovščina underpass, which will provide appropriate conditions comparable to European standards for the operation of a city cinema.