Nick Paris, left, and film festival director Bill Gosden bring the festival back to the Isaac Theatre Royal in 2016.

Film festival ticket sales have remained flat in Christchurch for the third year in a row.

The New Zealand International Film Festival sold 20,336 tickets in Christchurch this year, compared to 20,075 in 2017 and 20,579 in 2016. Ticket sales were slightly lower than their 2015 peak, when a record breaking 23,000 were sold.

Festival director Bill Gosden put the flat ticket sales down to the lack of foot traffic in the city centre, which is still being rebuilt after the 2011 earthquakes. The festival is held at the Isaac Theatre Royal in the city centre and the Hoyts Northlands multiplex cinema.

The documentary Three Identical Strangers was a hit at this year's film festival in Christchurch.

"We would like to see [ticket sales] grow a bit more," he said.

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"There is plenty of capacity for growth, particularly at the Issac with the number of seats that are there.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF Christchurch festival host Nick Paris in the Isaac Theatre Royal in 2017.

"The Isaac [Theatre Royal] is not in an area where there is already a lot of foot traffic.

"The day time sessions at the Isaac, except where there was enormous interest in a film, were very quiet compared to the other centres where we present the festival."

He hoped the new central library, under construction across the road from the theatre and due to open on October 12, would bring more people to the area.

He also said film festival patrons had complained about the lack of parking.

"It seems a pity about the parking. If that is keeping people out of town then it is absolutely counter productive."

He said the film festival probably broke even in Christchurch, but the accounts had not yet been finalised.

Film festival ticket sales improved in Christchurch after the Isaac Theatre Royal reopened with screening equipment in November 2014.

Before the 2011 earthquakes and the move to the Isaac Theatre Royal, ticket sales were historically low in Christchurch. The festival sold 16,743 tickets in 2010 and 12,157 in 2011, a year that was hampered by a cold snap and continuing aftershocks.