On Friday the Danish group inaugurated its first ever cinema complex in Sweden and the first in the country offering 4DX technology, already available in Denmark and Norway.

The Nordisk Film Bio in Gränbystaden, near Uppsala, has five state-of-the art auditoriums, all equipped with high quality sound and imagery, large armchairs that can lean back to almost horizontal position and adjustable footrest, for the cost of a normal cinema ticket. With the 4DX technology, the Gränsbystaden cinema also brings the cinema experience to a new level with the ability for the viewer to feel 19 different effects such as winter, water, fog, smell, snow, soap bubbles, heat, as well as jumping and shaking seats.

Egmont’s Nordisk Film Cinema group already operates 20 cinemas in Denmark and another 21 in Norway (since its acquisition in 2013 of Oslo Kino). The opening of the cinema in Gränbystaden is the first step in Nordisk Film’s expansion in neighbouring Sweden, where other cinemas are set to open in Malmö and in Stockholm.

“The Swedes average 1.6 visits to the cinema per person each year. In Denmark and Norway, the average is 2.8 visits per year. Our goal is to get more Swedes going to the movies more often, and we are convinced that we will succeed. The cinema offers the opportunity to be together and entertainment for the whole family. It is a real social media, something people are demanding more than ever,” said Jesper Danielsson, cinema manager at Nordisk Film Cinemas Uppsala.

Reacting on Nordisk Film’s opening of the Gränbystaden cinema, Jens Lanestrand, operation manager at Biografcentralen (Sweden’s national arthouse organisation) said he welcomed the arrival of a new actor in the Swedish market, the first time in decades that the major group SF/Filmstaden which controls 80% of the Swedish cinema market, will be challenged in one of the country’s largest cities-Uppsala.