Further evidence that the box office is recession proof, or at least resistant, arrived Friday with Cineplex’s first-quarter results for 2009 — showing healthy gains in revenue, attendance and earnings.

The country’s largest exhibitor saw revenues of $211 million over the three months ending March 31, up 11.2% from the same frame last year, while attendance climbed 9% to 16 million. Adjusted EBITDA came in just shy of $30 million, up 19.2%

Concession sales were also up, especially ‘compelling,’ said CEO Ellis Jacob, as the quarter saw fewer kid-aimed and snack-friendly movies than early 2008.

‘Cineplex continues to perform well during these difficult economic times,’ he said in the report, noting that the quarter was led by titles including Paul Blart: Mall Cop (which ‘outperformed expectations’) and Oscar-sweeper Slumdog Millionaire.

One of the few areas in which the numbers went down was at the video arcade, part of an ancillary revenue stream, which slipped 14.6% to $1.1 million. Jacob blamed the dip on the prominence of older-skewing titles including Slumdog and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

The revenue category to which the arcades belong, however, was up 8.1%, due in part to media revenue and increased sales of gift cards.