With 138 days of cinema closure, against 100 days in 2020, Denmark experienced one of the toughest periods ever for cinema-going due to the pandemic.

Total admissions dropped 48% compared to pre-pandemic times, from 13.2 million in 2019 to 6.8 million in 2021, although compared to 2020, attendance sunk by ‘only’ 5%.

Despite the on-going restrictions that shortened the cinema year and forced many distributors to push their releases to 2022, the good attendance figures when cinemas were open, for instance in May and in particular in the fall - were strong signs of the Danes’ sustained appetite for the big screen experience.

According to preliminary figures from the Danish Film Institute, FAFID and Dansk biografer, the biggest audience-puller of the year was James Bond’s latest movie No Time to Die which sold over 1 million tickets, making it the biggest 007 instalment ever in Denmark and privileged club member of the million ticket sales holder.

The Danish animated film Checkered Ninja 2 almost reached that record level, with 930,321 admissions, flirting with the 950,000 of the first film, also co-directed by Anders Matthesen and Thorbjørn Christoffersen, based on Matthesen’s 2016 book Ternet Ninja.

Several other Danish films achieved decent results, despite the numerous restrictions, such as Charlotte Sieling’s Margrete-Queen of the North, second biggest local hit, followed by Bille August’s The Pact, Ole Bornedal’s The Shadow in My Eye, and Martin Zandvliet’s The Marco Effect based Jussi Adler-Olsen’s ‘Department Q’ crime book series.

With 2.8 million admissions, Danish films ended up with a high 41% market, slightly down from 2020’s record 51% but still among the highest levels in Europe, while US films’ slice of the national market at 34% was significantly down the 58% share in 2019.

Among Nordic (non-Danish) films, the two biggest sellers were Norway’s animated film Two Buddies and a Badger-The Great Big Beast released by True Content Entertainment, which sold 11,938 tickets, and the Finnish biopic Tove, watched by 6,608 Danes.

Within documentaries, Camera Film released the two most successful films: Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw’s The Truffle Hunters (23,227 admissions) produced by Italy’s Luca Guadagnino, and the Danish doc biopic by Jesper Dalsgaard Kandis for Life (14,853).

Meanwhile the triple-Oscar nominated film Flee by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, released by Reel Pictures, was watched by 11,709 Danes in 2021.

Commenting on the 2021 film year, the Danish Film Institute’s CEO Claus Ladegaard said. “It is extremely rewarding to see that the audience showed so great support for Danish films and in general the physical cinema experience, despite restrictions and a shortened cinema year,” he said. “The theatres opened in May, and especially numbers for the autumn months clearly indicate that we are still very keen on seeing films together in cinemas. Fortunately, the industry has been able to keep production going these past few years, ensuring a wide range of Danish films that were able to take on the competition from the big international hits,” he said.

Looking at 2022, the head of the DFI said the next half year will see as many as 18 films coming out, from family films and animation to dramas, horror, thrillers and comedies.” Those include Niels Arden Oplev’s Rose starring Sofie Gråbøl (February 24), Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis’ The Bereaved /Hvidstengruppen-de edfterladte (March 10) and Christian Tafdrup's psychological horror Speak No Evil (March 17).

To download the DANISH 2021 ADMISSION CHARTS: CLICK HERE.