141,904 movie screens globally in 2004, 81,200 of them have digital sound

According to Screen Digest estimates, there are 81,200 digital sound screens in the world today. This represents 57.2% of all screens and 78.5% of all screens excluding China (where many screens are actually projection units used in rural areas and not static cinemas at all). Digital sound screens have always been slightly more numerous in USA than in the international market. In 2004, the US accounted for 52.7% of screens while international accounted for 47.3%. In 1996, the US had 53.4%.