17.11.2005
Danish films are
breaking records for cinema sales. So far, 3.7 million tickets have been
sold to Danish films in 2005. Danish films haven't drawn such crowds
since 1981, when 4.1 million tickets were sold.
Ticket sales for Danish
films rose in the late 1990s and have remained high since. Full-year sales
peaked at 3.65 million tickets in 2001, but this year's sales surpassed
that number already on 10 November.
There has been a
dramatic decline in ticket sales all over the world this year. In the
first nine months, European ticket sales across the board were lower than
in the same period last year: sales were down some 20% in Germany and
Finland, almost 15% in France and Italy and around 10% in Norway, Holland
and the UK, while ticket sales in Denmark dipped just 7%.
"There has been no
breakout blockbuster yet, along the lines of "The Lord of the Rings" or
"Harry Potter". The big productions have had less to offer in the way of
interesting innovation. Those are probably major reasons why fewer people
have been going to the cinema worldwide," says Maja Giese, the Danish Film
Institute's Head of Unit for Distribution & Marketing.
"On the other hand,"
Giese adds, "there have been a large number of new Danish films that have
been considerably varied, fuelling cinema-going. Danish cinema appears to
have become a focal point for a lot of people. People don't stop going to
the movies if there's something worth seeing. A handful of big
international films will be opening over the next month and we expect this
will tip the scales back, bringing ticket sales for the entire year up to
last year's levels. Danish films will still represent a very big share of
ticket sales, likely more than 30%."
For further
information
Current cinema
figures for Danish filmshttp://www.dfi.dk/sitemod/moduler/generelle_moduler/fb/index.asp?pid=13800
Source of sales
figures for admissions in other countriesResearch &
Statistics Unit, UK Film Council 08.11.2005
Danish Film
Institute (DFI)Maja Giese, +45 3374 3439, +45 4050 4750, majag@dfi.dk