Admissions Finland first 6 months: back to basics

Finnish films sold a total of 784,730 tickets for a 21.8% market share (14.6% the same period in 2017), thanks to a combination of family films, comedies and 2017 releases including The Unknown Soldier that added 93,231 admissions to cross the 1 million cap.

The biggest selling Finnish film this first half of this year was Jonna Tena’s family Super Furball, freely based on Paula Noronen’s children’s books, which sold 139,232 tickets for a 5^th place at the Top 10, just above Disney’s Oscar-winning film Coco (131,529). Another Finnish film came in at number 9: My Brother’s Keeper by JP Siili, a biopic about Finnish rapper sensation Cheek watched by 121,205 fans. The most popular Finnish documentary was Ilkka Vanne’s Tammisunnuntai 1918 (2,144 admissions).

General admissions at 3,597,720 were 13.7% lower than the same period in 2017 with only one film above 200,000 admissions (Avengers: infinity War) compared to four films the previous year. Two other Marvel Comics superhero movies topped the Finnish charts this year: Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther. At number 4, the Swedish comedy Solsidan was an expected hit with Finnish fans who had enjoyed Felix Herngren’s original TV series.

Commenting on the first six months cinema results, Harri Ahokas, Head of Domestic Distribution at the Finnish Film Foundation said: “Last year was quite exceptional when Finland was celebration its first 100 years as an independent nation and naturally, interest was high on historic films like The Unknown Soldier and The Eternal Road. Now we go back to basics. Family films are usually doing steady business, therefore book to screen adaptations like Pony and Pigeonboy [03.08 release] and Jill & Joy and the Sleeping Clock [25.12]. should do well at home."

Other local films expected to score with local audiences according to Ahokas are Happier Times, Grump (sequel to the 2014 hit), the biopic The Singer about Finland’s beloved music entertainer Olavi Virta, the WW2 drama Land of Hope by veteran director Markku Pölönen, the French/Finnish documentary film Ailo’s Journey, while Selma Vilhunen’s second fiction film Stupid Young Heart should also reach its niche audience.

Finland First half 2018 Top 10 Films
(Source: Finnish Film Foundation/Filmikamari)

Finland First half 2018 Top 10 Finnish films
(Source: Finnish Film Foundation/Filmikamari)