Cinema-going increased by more than 1% in Iceland, 1.4%Sweden compared to the same period in 2014, and more than 8% in Finland where the local comedy Reunion triumphed at the box office.
Sweden: Local films lose ground in stable market
Cinema-going was stable in Sweden during the first six months of 2015, with around 8 million admissions, up 1.4% from the same period in 2014 and 8.1% from 2013 according to figures from the Swedish Film Institute.
Admissions were particularly high in spring thanks to Fifty Shades of Grey and Fast & Furious 7, the most successful films during the first half of 2015. US films amounted for around 55% of general admissions, slightly down from 2014 (62%).
With a 15.8% market share from 1.3 million tickets sold, Swedish films had the lowest admissions in the last five years, compared to the same period in 2014 when local films had a 28.2% of the market notably due to The 100 Year-old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared that accounted for more than 50% of all admissions for Swedish films.
Two Swedish films released in December 2014 found a spot at the Top 10 films: the comedy Micke & Veronica (377,276 admissions during the first six months and 549,996 total for SF Film) and franchise family film Sune i fjällen/The Anderssons Rock the Mountain (259,024 first six months/570,969 total for Nordisk Film).
Commenting on the end of year prospect, SFI statistical analyst Johan Fröberg said: “Total admissions for 2015 will likely be higher by about 5% compared to the same period in 2014. The Swedish line-up for the fall 2015 is promising and will hopefully lead to a 20% market share.”
Top Swedish Documentary
Of the top 20 Swedish films that were released in the first six months, the most successful was the documentary film Filip & Fredrik presenterar Trevlig folk/Nice People (SF Film ) with 123,829 admissions. The film was also number 20 at the Swedish Top 20-all films. A total of 10 Swedish documentaries were released in cinemas during the first half 2015.
Top Nordic films
Three 40 minute Norwegian animated films released by Folkets Bio about Alfons Åberg were the top 3 Nordic-non-national - Alfons leker Einstein 24,600; Vem lurar Alfons 19,682 and Flyg! Sa Alfons Åberg 19,682. The fourth most successful Nordic film was Big Game by Finland’s Jalmari Helander 9,199 admissions (Studio S).
Top 10 Films Sweden first Six Months 2015 (source Swedish Film Institute)
|
FILMS |
ADMISSIONS IN 2015 |
|
Fifty Shades of Grey (US) |
524.947 |
|
Fast & Furious 7 (US) |
439.439 |
|
Jurassic World (US) |
411.198 |
|
Micke & Veronica (SE) |
377.276 |
|
Avengers: Age of Ultron (US) |
343.074 |
|
Paddington (UK/France) |
305.322 |
|
Big Hero 6 (US) |
302.587 |
|
Sune i fjällen/The Anderssons Rock the Mountains (SE) |
259.024 |
|
Hobbit 3: The Battle of the Five Armies (US) |
242.182 |
Top 10 Swedish films first six months 2015 (source Swedish Film Institute)
|
FILMS |
Admissions in 2015 |
|
Micke & Veronica |
377.276 |
|
Sune i Fjällen/The Anderssons Rock the Mountains |
259.024 |
|
Filip & Fredrik presenterar Trevlig Folk/Nice People |
123.829 |
|
Cirkeln/The Circle |
120.698 |
|
Jönssonligan-Den perfekta stöten/The Master Plan |
99.281 |
|
I nöd eller lust |
48.590 |
|
Turist/Force Majeure |
43.460 |
|
Gentlemen |
36.974 |
|
Miraklet i Viskan/Viskan Miracles |
32.157 |
|
En duva satt påen gren och funderade påtillvaron/ |
27.339 |
Iceland: Best admissions since 2011
Cinema attendance for the first six months of 2015 was at its highest point since 2011 with 68.721 admissions from 79 new films, up almost 1% from the same period in 2014 and almost 8% from 2013 according to FRÍSK, Iceland’s Association of film & TV rights holders.
The biggest hit Avengers, Age of Ultron released by Samfilm sold 39,839 tickets and took a 6.61% share of the market. In comparison, last year’s best-selling film during that period was the Icelandic film Life in a Fishbowl that grabbed 7.8% of the market.
This year’s most popular Icelandic films so far is Rams by Grímur Hákonarsson followed by Dagur Kári’s Virgin Mountain.
For Hallgrimur Kristinsson, Head of FRISK, admissions for the rest of the year look ‘promising’ with the upcoming releases of Baltasar Kormákur’s English language Everest (September 18), Rúnar Rúnarsson’s Sparrows (October 16) and the Danish comedy Klovn 2 (the first film had over 42,000 admissions).
Top Icelandic documentary
Arni Sveinsson’s film Óli Prik (The Coach) about handball legend Ólafur Stefánsson was the most successful local documentary with 1,175 admissions.
Top Nordic film
The Danish film The Absent One by Mikkel Nørgaard was the top selling Nordic title with 2,918 admissions for Sena.
Top 10 Films Iceland first six months 2015 (source FRISK)
|
FILMS |
Gross BO (kr) |
ADMISSIONS IN 2015 |
|
Avengers: Ages of Ultron |
48.517.104 |
39.839 |
|
Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies |
40.658.985 |
31.971 |
|
Jurassic World |
39.624.195 |
31.765 |
|
Fast & Furious 7 |
34.702.525 |
30.313 |
|
Mad Max: Fury Road |
32.639.182 |
26.456 |
|
The Sponge Bob Movie |
32.310.934 |
35.598 |
|
Kingsman: Secret Service |
27.034.676 |
24.744 |
|
Paddington |
25.472.607 |
28.316 |
|
Serial Bad Weddings |
23.820.741 |
21.462 |
|
Pitch Perfect 2 |
23.680.379 |
20.536 |
Top 8 Icelandic Films first six months 2015 (source FRISK)
|
FILMS |
Gross BO (kr) |
ADMISSIONS IN 2015 |
|
Hrútar/Rams |
19.316.630 |
14.488 |
|
Fúsi/Virgin Mountain |
15.558.364 |
11.579 |
|
Bakk/Reverse |
9.205.840 |
7.414 |
|
Albatross |
1.983.300 |
3.811 |
|
Óli Prik/The Coach |
931.440 |
1.175 |
|
Austur/East of the Mountain |
781.930 |
1.319 |
|
Blóðberg/The Homecoming |
670.100 |
491 |
|
Algjör Sveppi og Gói Bjargar Málunum/The Biggest Rescue |
414.614 |
366 |
Finland: Reunion Drives Local admissions
Finland is heading off to a new record year thanks to the phenomenal success of the local comedy Reunion (Luokkakokous) that passed the magical 500,000 admission cap this summer. During the first six months of 2015, the Finnish remake of the 2011 Danish hit Klassefesten contributed around 11% of the 4.3 million total admissions that climbed by nearly 10% compared to the same period in 2014, according to the Finnish Film Foundation.
Taneli Mustonen’s Reunion released by Nordisk Film also boosted the market share for Finnish films that soared to 35.2% (against 28% in 2014). Another four Finnish films made it big and entered the Top 10 all films: Ricky Rapper and the Scrooge of Seville, fifth edition of the popular family brand, the English language Big Game, crime franchise Vares-The Sheriff and comedy Adult Camp.
Harri Ahokas, Head of Distribution at the Finnish Film Foundation, says that the phenomenal success of Reunion –and before that The Grump- ‘has raised interest in new audiences. Digitisation of all cinemas has also widened the audience potential in smaller communities’. He expects Finnish films to end the year at around 2.4 million admissions which would mean a new record with a 30% market share.
Top Finnish documentary
Markku Heikkinen’s Men of Talvivaara Mine (Talvivaaran miehet) about the everyday life of miners in the infamous Talvivaara mine in Northern Finland was the most popular local doc with 2,879 admissions for B-Plan Distribution.
Top Nordic Film
The Swedish drama Turist (Force Majeure) by Ruben Östlund released by Cinema Mondo sold more than 10,374 tickets.
Top 10 Films Finland first six months 2015 (source Finnish Film Foundation)
|
FILMS |
ADMISSIONS IN 2015 |
|
Luokkakokous/Reunion |
497 272 |
|
Risto Räppääjäja Sevillan saituri |
310 282 |
|
Fast & Furious 7 |
225 269 |
|
Fifty Shades of Grey |
148 964 |
|
Avengers: Age of Ultron |
134 701 |
|
Big Game |
127 218 |
|
Jurassic World |
124 073 |
|
Mad Max: Fury Road |
113 387 |
|
Vares –Sheriffi/Vares –The Sheriff |
110 050 |
|
Viikossa aikuiseksi/Adult camp |
109 370 |
Top 10 Finnish Films first six months 2015 (source Finnish Film Foundation)
|
FILMS |
ADMISSIONS IN 2015 |
|
Luokkakokous/Reunion |
497.272 |
|
Risto Räppääjäja Sevillan saituri |
310.282 |
|
Big Game |
127 218 |
|
Vares –Sheriffi/Vares –The Sheriff |
110 050 |
|
Viikossa aikuiseksi (Adult camp) |
109 370 |
|
Me Rosvolat/We are the Pirates of the Roads |
71 558 |
|
Eila, Rampe ja Likka/Eila, Rampe and Baby Girl |
53.552 |
|
Miekkailija/The Fencer |
48 457 |
|
Armi elää/Armi alive |
38 649 |
|
Mielensäpahoittaja/The Grump |
38.101 |