Local titles and James Bond bring Nordic admissions back to pre-pandemic levels

Commenting on the current cinema attendance in the Nordics, Rasmus Krogh, Nordisk Film’s Director of Sales & Acquisitions said “the theatrical markets in the Nordic region are in ok shape, compared to other parts of the world and pre-Covid times. No Time To Die has been a big tentpole hit and has helped get the other Nordic markets back in gear. One concern we see is that Sweden is dragging behind compared to the other markets, but we hope that the Swedes too will be back in full gear once big local blockbusters hit the big screen,” he said.

Denmark’s last four-day chart was still dominated by the latest James Bond movie which kept its pole position after five weeks on screens via SF Studios. With its 923,248 admissions, No Time to Die is the biggest film of 2021 in Denmark, just ahead of the Danish animated film Checkered Ninja 2 (906,095) under Nordisk Film’s banner. The family film co-directed by Thorbjørn Christoffersen and Anders Matthesen has already grossed more than the first film and is getting closer in terms of tickets sold (954,000 for the first film) according to Krogh.

Last weekend’s new opener, Ole Bornedal’s WW2 drama The Shadow in my Eye (SF Studios) entered the top 10 at number 2 with 33,196 admissions from 131 screens. With previews, the historical drama produced by Miso Film has attracted 37,422 people.

Three other Danish titles made it in the Top 10: Charlotte Sieling’s Margrete-Queen of the North was number 5 with an extra 9,002 ticket sales from 83 screens. Total admissions after seven weeks have passed 337,337, making it the second biggest Danish film of 2021 after Checkered Ninja 2, ranked number 6 last weekend.

The local family film Forsvundet til Halloween came in at number 10 for Scandinavian Film Distribution, with total admissions now over 41,000 after four weeks.

Meanwhile the music docu biopic Kandis for Life by Jesper Dalgaard has rounded 12,700 tickets, making it the biggest documentary of the year.

In Finland, No Time to Die broke the half-million viewers mark last weekend and is still playing at number 1 after six weeks. The US blockbuster helped make October the second best ever -besides 2015-with over 935,000 admissions, according to the Finnish Film Foundation.

The Cannes Special Jury co-winner Compartment No6 opened at number 2, garnering 18,971 admissions from 113 screens, or 26,608 totally tally with previews. B-Plan’s distribution manager Helena Mielonen told nordicfilmandtvnews.com that she is very pleased with the results that have met her expectations. “We also believe the film will have a very strong and long run from here on in cinemas around the country,” she added.

The other new Finnish opener Bordertown-The Mural Murders by Juuso Syrjä-spinoff to Fisher King’s hit drama series Bordertown-came in at number 3 with 12,888 ticket sales after 5 days on 107 screens, or 19,598 total tickets with previews. Petri Kemppinen, CEO at Aurora Studios said his company is ‘absolutely pleased’ with the figures, considering Covid-19, although those “cannot fully compare to normal times.” “It has been clear during the past weeks that the older demographic is still a bit hesitant to go back to cinemas. They are a big chunk of the core audience, but the film has still performed well,” he said.

In Iceland, the action comedy Cop Secret by Hannes Þór Halldórsson kept its top ranking for the second consecutive weekend. So far the film released by Samfilm has grossed over Isk 27,233,701 from 24,621 ticket sales

No Time to Die handled by Myndform, stayed at number 3 (after Venom: Let there be Carnage) with 51,5230 cumulated admissions after four weeks.

Meanwhile Valdimar Jóhannsson's Lamb came in at number 10 at last weekend’s top charts. After six weeks on the screens, the Cannes Un Certain Regard entry has attracted 6,133 Icelandic moviegoers.

As part of Reykjavik’s International Film Festival, Bío Paradís played the Swedish kids thriller Nelly Rapp Monster Agent and Norwegian children’s film Casper and Emma at the Theatre, watched respectively by 384 and 85 kids and their parents.

Other Bío Paradís Nordic releases in the top 20 include the Polish/Icelandic Wolka, by the late Árni Ólafur Ásgeirsson, which has attracted 1,752 total visitors after three weeks, and Joachim Trier’s celebrated The Worst Person in the World (941 admissions in three weeks).

In Norway, the local disaster movie The North Sea released by Nordisk Film went straight to number 1 in its first three days, selling 54,932 tickets from 182 screens, or 64,176 tickets including previews. John Andreas Andersen’s big screen entertainment pushed the previous top chart holder No Time to Die down to number 2, although with 586,176, the US blockbuster is the top selling film of 2021.

Another strong cinema offer was Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World, third most popular movie of the weekend. After three weeks on screens via SF Studios, Norway’s Oscar entry has sold 128,852 tickets.

The documentary Aksel about the local ski champion Aksel Lund Svindal is still holding on to its audience, and sold an extra 5,188 tickets from 45 screens, pushing total tally to 33,559 for Euforia Distribution.

According to Film & Kino, with 1,290,893 admissions, this October was the second best of the millennium, after October 2016 (1,480,423). This is due largely to No Time to Die, but there are many indications that the cinema audience may already be back in full force,” said Film & Kino’s managing director Guttorm Petterson.

In Sweden, No Time to Die stayed on top in its fifth week on screens. So far the long-awaited film by Cary Joji Fukunaga has sold 630,177 tickets via SF Studios.

The first Swedish title at the Top 10, Colin Nutley’s A Wedding, Funeral and a Christening just made it at number 10, selling an extra 8,165 tickets from 133 screens. The comedy has garnered 17,675 admissions after two weeks on screens.

So far one of the biggest local titles of the year is the franchise film Sune-Mission Midsummer, with 212,908 admissions for Nordisk Film.

Sources: Sources: FAFID, Danish Film Institute, FRÍSK, Finnish Film Foundation, Filmikamari, Norske Filmbyråers Forening, Film & Kino, Filmweb.no, Filmägarnas Kontrollbyrå.