11-02-2008

Rising film attendance in new EU states offsets general decline

By FNE Staff

    Although cinema attendance in the European Union declined 2.2% in 2007, rising attendance in the new EU member states helped save the market from a more serious decline, according to figures released by the European Audiovisual Observatory. Ticket sales rose in Bulgaria, Poland, Latvia and Estonia while the Czech Republic and Lithuania both reported double digit growth and record highs.

    The Czech Republic reported an 11.4% rise in attendance in 2006 compares with the previous year, while Lithuanians boosted their movie-going a full 34%, according to provisional data released Feb. 11. But not all new EU states reported positive growth. In Hungary, attendance declined by 13.8% while in Slovakia attendance dropped 19.9%. No provisional figures were available for Cyprus, Malta, Romania or Slovenia.

    National films performed well on many markets in 2007. Compared with 2006, domestic market share increased in Poland by 8.8% to account for 24.7% of total admissions. Domestic market share in the Czech Republic rose 5.1% to account for 35.2% of the total market.

    Cinema Attendance in New EU Countries (2003-2007p*)

    In millions

    Country

    2003

    2004

    2005

    2006

    2007p*

    % change
    2007/2006

    Source

    BG

    Bulgaria

    3.0

    3.1

    2.4

    2.4

    2.5

    4.6%

    National Film Center

    CZ

    Czech Republic

    12.1

    12.0

    9.5

    11.5

    12.8

    11.4%

    Ministry of Culture / UFD

    EE

    Estonia

    1.3

    1.2

    1.1

    1.6

    1.6

    2.5%

    Estonian Film Foundation

    HU

    Hungary

    13.7

    13.7

    12.1

    11.7

    10.1

    -13.8%

    National Film Office

    LT

    Lithuania

    1.4

    ~

    1.2

    2.4

    3.2

    34.0%

    Baltic Films

    LV

    Latvia

    1.1

    1.7

    1.7

    2.1

    2.2

    3.9%

    National Film Centre

    PL

    Poland

    23.8

    33.4

    23.6

    32.0

    32.6

    1.8%

    boxoffice.pl

    SK

    Slovakia

    2.9

    2.8

    2.2

    3.4

    2.7

    -19.9%

    Slovak Film Institute

    * p: provisional data

    Source: European Audiovisual Observatory (OBS)

    Market Shares for National Films in New EU Countries (2003-2007p*)

    in %

    Country

    2003

    2004

    2005

    2006

    2007p*

    Change

    Source

    BG

    Bulgaria

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    1.2%

    n.a.

    National Film Center

    CZ

    Czech Republic

    25.0%

    23.8%

    25.1%

    30.1%

    35.2%

    5.1%

    Ministry of Culture / UFD

    EE

    Estonia

    8.2%

    5.6%

    5.7%

    9.8%

    14.3%

    4.5%

    Estonian Film Foundation

    HU

    Hungary

    4.4%

    10.3%

    15.4%

    18.7%

    12.9%

    -5.8%

    National Film Office

    LT

    Lithuania

    ~

    2.3%

    7.2%

    3.5%

    1.9%

    -1.5%

    Baltic Films

    LV

    Latvia

    3.6%

    3.7%

    1.8%

    5.7%

    7.4%

    1.7%

    National Film Centre

    PL

    Poland

    9.8%

    8.7%

    3.4%

    15.9%

    24.7%

    8.8%

    Min. Cult / boxoffice.pl

    * p: provisional data

    Source: European Audiovisual Observatory (OBS)

    • Data have been collected with the collaboration of the EFARN (European Film Agency Research Network).
    Published in Region
    More in this category:« Media's MIPCOM platform supports new EU states Six new EU member countries have VoD »