Admissions Denmark first 6 months: Ole Bornedal number one

According to figures from the Danish Film Institute, the first half of the year followed last year’s overall downward trend in admissions, both for local films and all films. 

Just over 5.7 million Danes went to the cinema against 6.5 million in 2017 (-12.1%), but only 983,500 chose to watch a Danish film, a drop of 34.8% compared to the 1,508,500 Danish admissions in the first half of 2017.

Bornedal’s biopic The Way to Mandalay about the beloved Danish singer/songwriter John Mogensen, was the top-selling film, with 408,404 admissions for Miso Film and Nordisk Film Distribution. The film had nearly 50,000 tickets more than the US blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War.

Another Danish film just made it in the Top 10: Karsten Kiilerich’s animated film Hodja, with 169,354 admissions. The most popular Danish documentary with nearly 9,000 admissions was Torben Skjødt Jensen’s Armed with Words and Wings, about Danish post-modern poet Michael Strunge.

Erik Poppe’s drama U-July 22 was the top-selling non-Danish Nordic film, with 42,864 admissions for Nordisk Film.

Claus Ladegaard, CEO at the Danish Film Institute said:”Admissions for the first half year are lower than last year, but what still comes about is the variety of films, and certain titles really held the audience's attention, like Ole Bornedal's The Way to Mandalay, the most-watched film this year."

“Looking ahead, there's a great range in genres and narratives. Bille August's A Fortunate Man, Lars von Trier's The House That Jack Built, and Christoffer Boe's The Purity of Vengeance are no doubt among the most anticipated titles. There are also striking debuts such as Kasper Torsting's epic In Love & War, Isabella Eklöf's Holiday that premiered at Sundance, and Niclas Bendixen's Ditte & Louise, a gender-bending comedy about women and careers expanding on a popular TV series. Also, quite a few family films are based on familiar universes that could gain good traction with the young audience, like Anders Matthesen's animation Checkered Ninja. All in all, the second half of 2018 looks promising.”

Total admissions all films first six months 2018
Source: Danish Film Institute

Admissions Danish films January 1^st to August 10, 2018
Source: 2018-Danish Film Institute
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