Press Release Strasbourg, 10 May 2007 European cinema bounces back in 2006		Download this press release in
		LUMIERE Database on film admissions

European Union film production figures show a steady upward trend

On the basis of currently available data, the European Audiovisual Observatory estimates that around 862 feature films were produced in the 25 member states of the European Union in 2006, 47 films more than in 2005.  This represents a 5.8% increase on the total for the previous year (815 films).

Countries contributing to overall growth included Germany, Italy and Spain.  With 174 new features released during the year, Germany registered the highest production level on record.  Entirely national fiction and documentary features were the principle areas of growth, with co-production numbers remaining stable in relation to 2005.  Factors contributing to the increase included a higher than usual number of very low budget features obtaining theatrical release.

After a lean period in 2005, Italian film production showed renewed vitality in 2006.  A total of 117 films were produced, a figure identical to that of 2003, though inferior to the record level of 138 films registered in 2004.  Upward momentum was also evident in Spain, where a total of 150 films, the highest level of the last twenty-five years, were produced. Again an increase in the number of entirely national films was the principle growth factor. Increased public funding as well as higher levels of investment in production by broadcasters underpinned the upswing.  Other countries showing increased production activity in 2006 included Austria (+10 films) and Hungary (+10 films) while provisional figures for Poland also indicate a rise in the number of new national films completed.  In the United Kingdom the number of films produced remained stable in relation to 2005.

Two notable exceptions to the trend were Denmark (-12 films) and France (-23 films).  Both countries had registered exceptionally high production volume in 2005 and the decrease in 2006 represents a return to more normal levels of activity.

In line with the decrease in the number of films produced, the value of investment in French production in 2006 fell by 7.4% to EUR 865 million. There was a significant drop in the number of very low budget (less than EUR 1 million) and mid-range (EUR 2 to 7 million) films made.  The overall value of production activity in the United Kingdom rose sharply to GBP 842.4 million, reversing the dip observed in 2005 (GBP 577 million).  The rise was principally accounted for by the increased value of incoming productions, contributing GBP 569.6 million to the overall total (GBP 308.7 million in 2005).

Europeans return to the cinemas in 2006

Total admissions in the European Union reached 926 million, a 3.6% rise on the lacklustre 2005 total of 894 million. The admissions lost between 2004 and 2005 were not, however, entirely recovered in 2006; the result is still around 80 million admissions short of the high-points registered in 2002 and 2004.  

 

Table 1: Admissions in the European Union (2001-2006) - In millions

ISO Code	Country	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006 provisional	% change  2006/2005
AT	Austria	18,83	19,32	17,71	19,38	15,72	17,27	9,9%
BE	Belgium	24,03	24,38	22,71	24,12	22,10	23,80	7,7%
CY	Cyprus estimated	0,86	0,96	1,00	0,96	0,78	n.c.	_
CZ	Czech Republic	10,36	10,69	12,14	12,05	9,48	11,51	21,4%
DE	Germany	177,93	163,91	148,96	156,71	127,32	136,68	7,4%
DK	Denmark	11,97	12,91	12,30	12,79	12,19	12,60	3,4%
EE	Estonia	1,30	1,56	1,27	1,19	1,13	1,59	40,2%
ES	Spain	146,81	140,71	137,47	143,92	127,64	121,65	-4,7%
FI	Finland	6,50	7,70	7,70	6,90	6,06	6,70	10,6%
FR	France	187,45	184,41	173,46	195,38	175,39	188,67	7,6%
GB	United Kingdom	155,91	175,90	167,26	171,25	164,69	156,56	-4,9%
GR	Greece estimated	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	12,00	12,70	n.c.	_
HU	Hungary	15,70	15,28	13,65	13,66	12,12	11,67	-3,8%
IE	Ireland	15,94	17,32	17,43	17,26	16,40	17,85	8,9%
IT	Italy	113,26	115,59	110,45	116,34	105,55	107,29	1,6%
LT	Lithuania	2,37	1,39	1,44	1,40	1,22	2,41	98,3%
LU	Luxembourg	1,41	1,43	1,26	1,36	1,16	1,24	7,2%
LV	Latvia	1,15	1,07	1,13	1,68	1,68	2,06	22,7%
MT	Malta estimated	1,04	1,06	1,08	1,03	0,99	n.c.	_
NL	The Netherlands	23,95	24,12	24,96	23,05	20,65	22,52	9,0%
PL	Poland	26,20	25,90	23,77	33,40	23,57	32,00	35,8%
PT	Portugal (1)	19,47	19,48	18,72	17,14	15,75	16,37	3,9%
SE	Sweden	18,10	18,30	18,17	16,61	14,61	15,29	4,7%
SI	Slovenia	2,47	2,78	2,97	3,00	2,44	2,71	10,8%
SK	Slovakia	2,85	3,17	2,97	2,90	2,20	3,40	54,3%
Estimated total for EU 25		999	1 005	955	1 006	894	926	3,6%

(1) Data prior to 2003 is not comparable with that for 2004 onwards.

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory

Despite the overall rise in attendance, signals from the major EU markets were somewhat mixed. While France (+7.6%) and Germany (+7.4%) showed clear signs of recovery, Italy, less affected than other European markets by the downturn in 2005, showed only a minimal increase in 2006 (+1.6%).  In contrast both Spain (-4.7%) and the United Kingdom (-4.9%) saw admissions fall for the second consecutive year, though in both cases rising ticket prices helped to cushion the impact on box office returns.

Outside of these five large markets, the trend was generally positive and a number of countries almost entirely compensated for the admissions lost in 2005.  This was the case in Poland, where 2005 had brought a heavy fall in attendance. In 2006 an additional 8.4 million tickets were sold, bringing the annual total to 32 million admissions, just 1.4 million short of the exceptional 2004 figure.  In Ireland (+8.9%), the 17.9 million tickets sold represent the highest annual attendance on recent record. 3.4 million admissions were registered in Slovakia, a 54.3% increase on 2005 and the best total since 1998.  Impressive performances were also registered in the three small Baltic markets.  Admissions almost doubled in Lithuania, whilst in Estonia (+40.2%) and Latvia (+22.7%) attendance was the best of the decade, with new multiplexes and an improved economic climate no doubt contributing factors.

Recovery was also evident in Austria (+9.9%), the Czech Republic (+21.4%), Finland (+10.6%), The Netherlands (+9.0%) and Slovenia (+10.8%), though in none of these countries did the 2006 total surpass that of 2004.  More modest increases were signalled in Belgium (+7.7%), Denmark (+3.4%), Luxembourg (+7.2%), Portugal (+3.9%) and Sweden (+4.7%).  Among the smaller and mid-sized European Union markets, only Hungary registered a small drop in cinema attendance (-3.8%).

Outside of the European Union, Turkey was the country showing the most dynamic growth.  With a total of 34.8 million tickets sold, cinema attendance reached its highest level since the early 1980s, fuelled by a string of very successful local productions and an increase in screen numbers.  Admissions also rose, though more modestly, in the Russian Federation, with box office returns rising by an impressive 30.4% to reach USD 411.8 million. While Switzerland and Norway also registered positive growth, two countries joining the European Union in January 2007 both saw a negative trend.  Admissions dipped for the second successive year in Bulgaria (-2.3%) and continued their downward slide in Romania with a small 1.9% drop.

 

Table 2: Admissions in European countries outside the European Union (2001-2006) - In millions

	Country	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006 provisional	% change 2006/2005
BG	Bulgaria (1)	2,01	2,02	3,04	3,12	2,42	2,37	-2,3%
CH	Switzerland	17,08	18,77	16,48	17,20	14,95	16,38	9,6%
HR	Croatia	2,94	2,77	2,34	2,98	2,17	n.c.	_
IS	Iceland	1,50	1,65	1,46	1,45	1,43	n.c.	_
MK	'The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia'	0,43	n.c.	0,28	0,30	0,10	n.c.	_
NO	Norway	12,50	12,04	13,05	11,97	11,31	11,94	5,6%
RO	Romania (1)	5,73	5,32	4,53	4,00	2,83	2,78	-1,9%
RU	Russian Fed.	36,40	40,50	68,00	76,50	83,10	89,50	7,7%
TR	Turkey	28,16	23,51	24,62	29,70	27,25	34,84	27,8%

(1) Member state of the European Union from 1 January 2007 but not during the period covered by this report.

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory

Improved market share for European films

A number of the countries reporting strong growth in admissions in 2006 also registered good performances by domestic films.  As a result the overall market share for European films in the European Union reached 27.6%.  This is an increase in relation to 2005 when 24.9% of tickets were sold for European films, and better than the 25.2% registered in 2004.   

Principle contributors to the overall success of European films were French and German productions.  French films accounted for 11.1% of total European Union admissions in 2006, reflecting the excellent results for national production on the domestic market.  Very strong performances by a number of comedies at the beginning of 2006 helped boost the share of French production within France to an estimated 45%, the highest domestic market share registered since the mid 1980s. Domestic productions also contributed to the revival of the German market, where three local titles figured among the Top 10 films for 2006 and national market share reached 25.8%, the best score since analysis began in 1991. As a result admissions to German films accounted for 5.1% of total EU admissions, compared to 3.2% in 2005.

Improved national market share was also reported in the Czech Republic, in Estonia, in Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Poland and Slovenia, while Denmark, Lithuania, Spain and Sweden recorded a drop.  In the case of Denmark, where the market share for national films reached 24.8% in 2006, the decrease is in relation to an exceptional share achieved in 2005 (32%) and the 2006 result remains superior to that recorded in 2004 (23.7%).  United Kingdom initiative films also had a less successful year in 2006, accounting for 2.8% of European Union admissions, though many of the films included in the adjoining category (films produced in Europe with US investment, indicated as EUR inc/US in the figure below) are shot in the United Kingdom and are generally perceived by audiences as being British.

EUR inc / US refers to films produced in Europe with US investment.
Admissions to European films on their national markets are included in the calculation of percentages in this figure.

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory - LUMIERE database (http://lumiere.obs.coe.int)

Outside of the European Union one country stands out in terms of the performance of domestic production.  With four national films in the first four places of the annual Top 20, domestic market share in Turkey climbed to an impressive 51.8%, easily the best performance in Europe.  War drama Kurtlar vadisi - Irak (Valley of the Wolves) was the most popular film of the year, ahead of a trio of local comedies (sequel Hababam sinifi 3,5, Hokkabaz and Sinav). A local sequel also dominated the annual ranking in the Russian Federation.  Fantasy Dnevnoy Dozor (Day Watch), sequel to the already immensely successful Nocnoj Dozor (Night Watch), became the highest grossing film ever following its 1st January release. 

Two sequels top the European charts in 2006

The second outing for the Pirates of the Caribbean was the most popular film overall in Europe in 2006, just ahead of another sequel, computer animation Ice Age: The Meltdown.  Six other sequels or series found places in a chart generally less dominated by fantasy or science-fiction than in 2005.   On the contrary the 2006 line-up is notable for the diversity of genres and themes represented, ranging from the antics of Borat to the more sophisticated comedy of The Devil Wears Prada and from a faithful adaptation of a bestselling novel in The Da Vinci Code to a freer reworking of an earlier Hong Kong film in The Departed.

Table 3: Admissions to films in distribution in Europe in 2006

Provisional ranking on the basis of available data from 21 European countries including Turkey
(around 81% of admissions in the 25 European Union countries are analysed).

	Original title	Country of origin (1)	Year	Director	Admissions
1	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest	US	2006	Gore Verbinski	44 723 234
2	Ice Age: The Meltdown	US	2006	Carlos Saldanha	40 378 925
3	The Da Vinci Code	US / GB inc	2006	Ron Howard	35 919 822
4	Casino Royale	GBinc/US/DE/CZ	2006	Martin Campbell	26 065 338
5	Cars	US	2006	John Lasseter	16 968 094
6	The Devil Wears Prada (2)	US	2006	David Frankel	14 643 264
7	Over the Hedge	US	2006	T. Johnson & K. Kirkpatrick	14 242 858
8	The Chronicles of Narnia I (3)	US / NZ inc	2005	Andrew Adamson	13 644 765
9	X-Men: The Last Stand	US	2006	Brett Ratner	13 014 864
10	Les Bronzés 3 : amis pour la vie	FR	2006	Patrice Leconte	11 197 302
11	Mission: Impossible III	US / DE	2006	J.J. Abrams	10 886 977
12	Borat	US	2006	Larry Charles	10 002 276
13	Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2)	DE / ES / FR	2006	Tom Tykwer	9 742 352
14	Superman Returns	US / AU inc	2006	Bryan Singer	9 133 860
15	Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties	US / GB inc	2006	Tim Hill	9 132 870
16	The Departed	US	2006	Martin Scorsese	9 067 115
17	Brokeback Mountain	US	2005	Ang Lee	8 397 224
18	Happy Feet (2)	AU / US	2006	George Miller	8 177 403
19	Volver	ES	2006	Pedro Almodóvar	7 776 302
20	Inside Man	US	2006	Spike Lee	7 735 919

(1) The reference 'inc' in this column refers to films produced with US inward investment.
(2) Still on release in 2007.
(3) 19 650 997 admissions in Europe in 2005.

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory - LUMIERE database (http://lumiere.obs.coe.int) - Data as of 3 May 2007.

In 2005 no entirely European film managed to claim a place in the overall Top 20 chart.  No less than three such titles appeared in the 2006 ranking; Les Bronzés 3 : amis pour la vie in 10^th place with 11.2 million admissions, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer at 13^th position with a total of 9.7 million tickets sold, and Volver  in 19^th place with 7.8 million admissions.  

French and German films dominated the Top 20 chart for European films in 2006 with two notable exceptions.  The first of these, Pedro Almodóvar's Volver, was well received, particularly in France and Italy, and recorded 76% of its European admissions total outside Spain.  On the contrary, the second, controversial Turkish film Kurtlar vadisi - Irak at 5^th place in the chart, earned the vast majority (91%) of its 4.7 million admissions on the domestic market.  Two United Kingdom titles, The Queen (at 13^th place and still on release in a number of territories in 2007) and United 93 (at 15^th place) also made an impression outside their home market, registering respectively 53 and 81% of their total ticket sales in continental Europe.

Table 4: Admissions to European films in distribution in Europe (2006)

Provisional ranking on the basis of available data from 21 European countries including Turkey (around 81% of admissions in the 25 European Union countries are analysed).

This list does not include films produced in Europe with US inward investment.

	Original title	Country of origin	Year	Director	Admissions
1	Les Bronzés 3 : amis pour la vie	FR	2006	Patrice Leconte	11 197 302
2	Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (1)	DE / ES / FR	2006	Tom Tykwer	9 742 352
3	Volver	ES	2006	Pedro Almodóvar	7 776 302
4	Camping	FR	2006	Fabien Onteniente	5 705 204
5	Kurtlar vadisi - Irak	TR	2006	S. Akar & S.Sentürk	4 697 757
6	7 Zwerge - Der Wald ist nicht genug	DE	2006	Sven Unterwaldt Jr.	4 150 563
7	Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen	DE	2006	Sönke Wortmann	3 991 913
8	Prête-moi ta main (1)	FR	2006	Eric Lartigau	3 651 001
9	Je vous trouve très beau	FR	2005	Isabelle Mergault	3 640 455
10	La doublure	FR / IT	2006	Francis Veber	3 517 057
11	Arthur et les Minimoys (1)	FR	2006	Luc Besson	3 506 902
12	Nanny McPhee (2)	GB / US / FR	2005	Kirk Jones	3 492 647
13	The Queen (1)	GB / FR / IT	2006	Stephen Frears	3 378 269
14	Indigènes (1)	FR / BE	2006	Rachid Bouchareb	3 254 012
15	United 93	GB / FR / US	2006	Paul Greengrass	3 184 184
16	Il mio miglior nemico	IT	2006	Carlo Verdone	3 179 252
17	Alatriste	ES	2006	Agustín Díaz Yanes	3 130 710
18	Natale a New York (1)	IT	2006	Neri Parenti	2 976 671
19	Ne le dis à personne	FR	2006	Guillaume Canet	2 815 298
20	Astérix et les Vikings	FR / DK	2006	S. Fjeldmark & J.Møller	2 706 885

(1) Still on release in 2007.
(2) 3 517 382 admissions in Europe in 2005.

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory - LUMIERE database (http://lumiere.obs.coe.int).  Data as of 3 May 2007.

Finally, the most successful non-European, non-US title released in Europe during the year was Australian computer animation Happy Feet, at 18^th place in the annual ranking for a total of 8.2 million tickets sold in 2006.  Canadian-French horror co-production, Silent Hill, was the second most successful film in this category, with a total of 3.6 million admissions in Europe.

The European Audiovisual Observatory will be present at the Marché du Film, Cannes
Stand Riviera A8, Palais des Festivals, Tel +33 (0)4 92 99 33 36

For further information, please contact:
Alison Hindhaugh (Press & Information Officer)
alison.hindhaugh@coe.int - tel.: +33 (0)3 90 21 60 10 - Mobile number at Cannes : +33 (0) 6 84 35 27 43

More detailed information can be found in FOCUS 2007. World Film Market Trends compiled by the European Audiovisual Observatory and published by the Marché du Film.

This publication is distributed to all registered participants at the Cannes Market.

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Notes for Editors

The European Audiovisual Observatory, Council of Europe

Set up in December 1992, the European Audiovisual Observatory's mission is to gather and distribute information on the audiovisual industry in Europe. The Observatory is a European public service body comprised of 36 member states and the European Community, represented by the European Commission. It operates within the legal framework of the Council of Europe and works alongside a number of partner and professional organisations from within the industry and with a network of correspondents. In addition to contributions to conferences, other major activities are the publication of a Yearbook, newsletters and reports, the compilation and management of databases and the provision of information through the Observatory's Internet site (http://www.obs.coe.int).

Number of  feature films produced in the European Union

Estimating the total volume of production of feature films in the European Union remains difficult, chiefly due to the risk of double counting of co-productions and to differing national methodologies for the collection of this data.  Included in the total for the European Union are feature-length fiction films and documentaries intended for theatrical exploitation, with the exception of feature documentaries in Denmark, Finland, Germany and Portugal.

Market shares (Figure 1)

The market shares shown in this figure are based on an analysis of results of films released in the 25 countries members of the European Union in 2006.  In order to draw up such market shares, a single 'country of origin' must be attributed to each film, an attribution that can prove difficult in the case of international productions.  In these cases the Observatory's aim is to attribute a country of origin corresponding to the source of the majority financial input and/or creative control of the project. Since 2005 the Observatory has identified specifically films that have been produced in one or more European countries (or elsewhere) with US investment by using the reference 'inc' (incoming investment) in the country of origin attribution.  It should be noted, however, that the availability of further information may occasionally lead to changes in the attribution of country of origin and that the origin of a film as attributed in the LUMIERE database may not always be identical with that indicated by national sources. 

The provisional data on market shares in the European Union in 2006 shown in Figure 1 are based on the data on admissions to individual films as collected in the LUMIERE database on 21st April 2007. At this date the coverage rate of the database for admissions in the 21 European Union countries for which data is available was of around 81%. Due to various gaps in data collection and delivery in various countries, coverage of 100% of admissions is currently unachievable. By the end of 2007, however, the LUMIERE data coverage rate for EU 25 in 2006 could be expected to reach around 89 or 90%. For 2006, LUMIERE has still to include additional data on the following EU countries: Austria, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia and data for films released in Spain with less than 300,000 admissions. For Greece the only figures available are admissions to European non-national films, published each year by the MEDIA Programme, based on the distributors' declarations made in the framework of the automatic distribution support scheme.

European admissions rankings (Tables 3 and 4)

The pan-European film rankings shown in tables 3 and 4 are drawn up using information stored in the LUMIERE database.  This database on admissions to films released in Europe, is available on-line and free-of-charge, and is the result of collaboration between the European Audiovisual Observatory and various specialised national sources as well as the MEDIA Programme of the European Union.  LUMIERE provides country-by-country analysis of admissions for more than 15,000 films in distribution in Europe since 1996. 2006 data for 21 European countries is now available, including data for the major European Union markets, as well as data for the North American market and a specific data series for the French-language market of Quebec.  The rankings (Tables 3 and 4) shown in this press release are based on data from all European countries for which results have been received.

Contacts at the European Audiovisual Observatory:

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The European Audiovisual Observatory Set up in December 1992, the European Audiovisual Observatory's goal is to gather and diffuse information on the audiovisual industry in Europe.  The Observatory is a European public service body comprised of 36 member states and the European Community, represented by the European Commission.  It operates as a partial agreement of the Council of Europe and works alongside a number of partner and professional organisations from within the industry, together with a Europe-wide network of correspondents.  In addition to contributions to conferences, other major activities are the publication of a Yearbook, a newsletter and reports, the management of the LUMIERE, KORDA and IRIS MERLIN databases, and the provision of information through the Observatory's Internet site.