Moviegoers were slow to return to the cinemas resulting in 2.5million ticket sales or two-third the pre-pandemic levels.

According to Tero Koistinen, head of the Finnish Chamber of Films, after anti-Covid restrictions were lifted end of February, the months of March, April, May were ‘low-key normal’ months, but June was bigger than average, and July the best in the last five years.

Finns clearly looked for escapism as US blockbusters dominated the charts, led by Top Gun-Maverick which garnered 246,938 admissions by late June, or 10% of all admissions during that period, according to the Finnish Film Foundation.

Despite a larger-than-usual number of local films on offer - 22 new films between February and April, only one Finnish film made it in the top chart-the family offer Vinski and the Invisibility Powder by Juha Wuolijoki, which entered the top 10 at number 7 with 88,107 admissions.

The Finnish Film Foundation’s Head of Distribution Ilmari Arnkil says few commercially-oriented Finnish films opened between May and July, and the anxiety in Finland, linked to the nearby conflict between Ukraine and Russia, might partly explain the soft figures for cinema-going. The most successful Finnish films that opened in 2022 were the documentary JVG-elokuva: Vuodet ollu tuulisii about rap duo JVG by Miika Särmäkarin and Taito Kawatan, and broad comedy MC Helper beKINS by Kaitsu Rinkinen.

This second part of 2022 will see a fierce competition for screen time among distributors and a possible cannibalisation of local fare, due to the large number of premieres postponed because of the pandemic. Indeed an all-time high 50 Finnish films are scheduled for theatrical release all through this year.

FOR FINNISH ADMISSIONS CHARTS JANUARY - JUNE 2022 -CLICK HERE.