After a slow 2019 for local fare that dropped in admissions across the Nordics, 2020 had a much healthier kick-start, thanks to a mix of family films based on well-known IPs, period films, comedies and genre films.

Last weekend in Denmark, the local comedy Klown the Final took the top of the charts for the second consecutive weekend, posting 256,917 admissions in only two weekends for Nordisk Film. With 539 admission per screen average, the third and last instalment reuniting comedian duo Casper Christensen, Frank Hvam and director Mikkel Nørgaard should stay in line with the two first films Klown-The Movie (2010) and Klown-Forever (2015), that sold 1.3 million combined tickets.

At number 2, the local WW2 drama Into the Darkness by Anders Refn is nearing 320,000 admissions after five weeks, making it the biggest local film so far for 2020. The family drama starring Jesper Christensen and Bodil Jørgensen was released by Scanbox.

In a competitive market for animated movies, dominated by Fox/Nordisk Film’s Spies in Disguise, and Disney’s Frozen 2, the local production Dreambuilders by Kim Hagen Jensen made its debut at number 8, selling 11,692 tickets from 78 screens for SF Studios.

The Norwegian animated film Ella Bella Bingo released by Scanbox dropped by 28% in its second weekend and posted 11,000 total admissions. Meanwhile, the Oscar nominated documentary The Cave by Feras Fayyad improved its score by 4% to reach 11,209 admissions after five weeks on screen via Camera Film.

In Finland the first month of 2020 was very strong with more than one million tickets sold, of which 300,000 (28.6%) went to domestic fare, with two titles driving the numbers: the comedy Ladies of Steel by Pamela Tola and period biopic Helene about Finnish painter Helene Schjerfbeck, directed by Antti Jokinen. Last weekend, after three weeks at number 1 Helene dropped to number 5 after Birds of Pray, 1917, Spies in Disguise and Little Women. The film distributed by Nordisk Film is nearing 140,000 admissions.

Ladies of Steel released by SF Finland came in at number 7, adding 9,082 tickets sold for a total tally of 210,557 after six weeks. The local documentary Conductivity by Anna-Karin Grönroos opened at number 18, selling 767 tickets from 31 screens. Released simultaneously in Scandinavia, the Norwegian animated film Ella Bella Bingo by Frank Mosvold and Atle Solberg Blakseth was watched by 8,801 Finns after three weeks on screens via Finnkino.

In Iceland Ragnar Bragason’s film The Garden kept its seventh position at the top 10 after Birds, of Prey, The Gentlemen, 1917, Dolittle, Bad Boys for Life and Little Women. The local dramedy that Bragason has adapted from his own theatre play, has sold 7,432 tickets in five weeks for Sena. The film starring Sigrún Edda Björnsdóttir and Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir is still playing in four cinemas.

Also under Sena’s banner, the Danish animated hit Checkered Ninja, dropped by 29% in its second week. So far 1,738 Icelanders have watched the film by Thorbjørn Christoffersen and Anders Matthesen.

In Norway, Ella Bella Bingo entered the top chart at number 7 in its third week, after Birds of Prey, 1917, Little Women, Spies in Disguise, Parasite and Frozen 2. So far the film spin-off to NRK Super’s popular series, has attracted 42,667 Norwegian filmgoers. The film released by Norsk Filmdistribusjon is the ninth best-selling title of 2020.

A number 10 last weekend, the local disaster movie The Tunnel added 2,392 admissions from 48 screens, to reach 212,859 after seven weeks. Pål Øie’s movie released by Nordisk Film is the third biggest film of 2020 after Frozen 2 and 1917.

Another strong local performer was the documentary The Self Portrait about photographer Lene Marie Fossen and her life with anorexia, which captivated 25,685 Norwegians. The film directed by Katja Høgset, Margreth Olin and Espen Wallin was released by Norsk Filmdistribusjon.

In Sweden, the film JerryMaya’s Detective Agency-The Mystery of the Train Robber went straight to number 1 for its opening weekend, selling 44,027 tickets from 228 screens for SF Studios.

No Swedish film had topped the domestic charts in over a year. “I’m so happy that a commercial children’s film with high artistic ambitions has attracted such a large audience,” said actress Moa Gammel Ginsburg who makes her feature directorial debut. Martin Widmark, author of the best-selling children’s books about the young detective duo Jerry and Maya, was involved in the creative process from script stage.

SF Studios’ other children’s film Pelle No Tail based on the popular books by Gösta Knutsson ranked number 8, after four weeks on screens. So far 77,051 Swedes have seen the animated film directed by Christian Ryltenius.

Two local films released at Christmas last year - A Piece of My Heart by Edward af Sillén and Sune-Best Man by Jon Holmberg continue to perform strongly for Nordisk Film. Sillén’s musical romantic comedy has now passed 412,000 admissions after seven weeks, while the latest film in the Sune franchise about the Andersson family has generated 319,193 admissions. Both films were produced by Unlimited Stories.

Among arthouse releases, the Icelandic film A White, White Day opened last weekend via Folkets Bio and sold 1,031 tickets, while the Swedish Oscar candidate And Then We Danced released by TriArt has attracted 52,895 filmgoers.

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