Sweden launches 2nd season of ‘Biopasset’ with 12 titles including 4 Nordic films

Launched a year ago to boost cinema-going in Sweden hit by Covid (see separate story: CLICK HERE) Biografklubb Sverige (Swedish Cinema Club), Sweden's answer to the successful Biografklub Danmark, has just released the programme of its new Biopasset (cinema pass) for 2022-2023.

Twelve brand new quality commercial titles have been handpicked by a committee consisting of established Swedish exhibitors and distributors.

As per the agreement signed with the Swedish Film Institute which requires a minimum of two local films to be selected for Biopasset, this new season has three Swedish films under offer: Björn Runge’s Burn all My Letters, Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness, and Andreas Öhman’s One Day This Will Be Yours (all supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond), as well as the Danish drama Rose by Niels Arden Oplev, watched by 335,000 Danes.

Also part of Biopasset’s new season is the highly anticipated Tom Hanks vehicle A Man Called Otto, US version of the Swedish hit A Man Called Ove. The Marc Forster film produced by SF Studios’ Fredrik Wikström Nicastro with Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman will be released in Sweden January 13, 2023.

The 12 titles offered half prize, will be programmed across Sweden in 118 participating cinemas.

Peter Fornstam, head of the Swedish Cinema Association, which runs Biografklub Sverige with the Swedish Film Rental Association (Sveriges Filmuthyrareförening), said in its first year, 6,000 Swedes bought a Biopasset membership. “When we launched, new restrictions kicked in, so bearing that in mind, we are pleased with year one.”

"Watching a good film in a cinema together with someone you like, is something really special that we think everyone should experience. Therefore, we see the Biopass as a long-term investment to increase cinema attendance and attract back visitors who don't go to the cinema as much anymore."

Commenting on the current cinema market in Sweden, Fornstam said admissions are 70-75% compared to the same period in 2019. That said, Covid-related cinema restrictions were still in place in January-February that are important months for cinema-going, and fewer films were available for theatrical release compared to 2019.

Fornstam was satisfied with the promotional ‘Stora Biodagen’ or National Cinema Day which attracted 150,000 filmgoers, the best single day admission-wise, since Christmas 2019.

Full list of titles in the Biopasset 2022-2023 season:

• Burn All My Letters by Björn Runge - Premiere September 23, 2022
• Triangle of Sadness by Ruben Östlund -Premiere October 7, 2022
• Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris by Anthony Fabian -Premiere October 14, 2022
• Rose by Niels Arden Oplev-Premiere November 11, 2022
• Broker by Hirokazu Koreeda- Premiere December 16, 2022
• A Man Called Otto by Marc Forster-Premiere January 13, 2023
• One Day This Will Be Yours by Andreas Öhman -Premiere February 10, 2023
• The Whale by Darren Aronofsky-Premiere March 2023.
• What´s Love Got to Do With it? by Shekhar Kapur-Premiere April 4, 2023
• The Eight Mountains by Felix van Groeningen, Charlotte Vandermeersch-Premiere June 2023
• Barbie by Greta Gerwig-Premiere July 2023.

To learn more about Biografklubb Sverige, visit their website: CLICK HERE.