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Press Release
Strasbourg, 6 May 2008

European films strong
as cinema attendance falls back |
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LUMIERE
Database on
film admissions
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Cinema attendance in the 27 member states of the European
Union fell 1.3% to 919 million admissions in 2007
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European films earned a market share of 28.8% in 2007,
slightly up on the strong level of 2006
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In 2007, 921 feature films were produced in the EU, 10
more than in 2006

European film production shows moderate growth
Based on the provisional data available, the European Audiovisual
Observatory estimates that a total of 921 feature films were produced
in the 27 member states of the European Union in 2007. This data includes
for the first time production figures from the two new EU member states,
Bulgaria and Romania, and historic figures have been adjusted to reflect
this change. Based on these adjusted figures, European production levels
for entirely national and majority co-productions have increased by
1.1% year-on-year and by an annual average of 5.1% since 2003 (754 feature
films).
Overall growth was primarily due to a rise in the number of entirely
national productions, increasing from 543 in 2003 to 711 in 2007 and
10 films up on 2006. International co-productions remained stable year-on-year,
with a total of 210 films majority co-produced by a European Union member
country in 2007.
Increased production activity in France, Spain and Italy contributed
significantly to overall growth. With a total of 133 entirely national
films (+6) and 52 majority co-productions (+15), France registered the
second highest production level of the past five years, up 21 films
from the previous year. Spanish production levels hit a record high,
increasing 9% to 115 entirely national films (+6) and 30 majority co-productions
(+6). Continuing its upward trend Italy counted a total of 109 ‘national’
films split into 93 national (+3) and 16 majority co-productions (+4).
In contrast, production figures declined strongly in Hungary and Sweden,
falling by -18 and -16 respectively. However in both cases this represents
a return to more normal levels against a background of exceptional production
activity in 2006.
European admissions fall back slightly in 2007
The European Audiovisual Observatory now estimates 2007 cinema attendance
in the European Union at 919 million tickets sold. This figure takes
into account revised estimates from Spain and Italy and represents a
1.3% decrease from the 932 million admissions registered in 2006.
Results differed significantly across the various territories. Among
the five major markets the United Kingdom and Italy stood out. According
to estimates from Centro Studi ed Analisi di Cinecittà Holding,
Italian cinema experienced a phenomenal year, growing 13% to a record
120 million admissions. In the United Kingdom cinema attendance rose
by 3.7% to 162 million tickets sold. Improving on early estimates the
Spanish market registered a decline of -3.9%, while admissions
fell by -5.9% and -8.2% in France and Germany respectively.
While cinema markets in Western Europe – with the exceptions
noted above – were generally facing regressive attendance figures,
audience interest was growing in more recent EU member states. This
trend was demonstrated by the Czech Republic, where cinema attendance
increased by 11.4%, largely thanks to strong local films, and Lithuania
(+34%).
Table 1: Cinema attendance in the European Union (2003-2007
prov.)

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory
Outside of the European Union results were also mixed. While the Russian
market increased by 16% with admissions climbing to 107 million, Norway,
Switzerland and Turkey saw attendance fall steeply.
Table 2: Admissions in European countries outside of the European
Union (2003–2007 prov.)

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory
Strong demand for European film
Based on available data, the European Audiovisual Observatory estimates
that European films achieved a provisional market share of 28.8% of
total admissions in the European Union. This represents a small increase
from an already strong 2006 market share of 28.6%, and stays well above
the 25% achieved on average during 2003 and 2005.
In 2006 the phenomenal success of national films in France along with
strong German films propelled the market share for European films to
well above 28%. In 2007 United Kingdom and Italian films were largely
responsible for maintaining European market share at this high level,
even expanding it slightly. This helped to compensate for drops in national
market share in France and Germany. Nonetheless, French productions
remained the largest overall contributors to the market share of European
films in the European Union, accounting for 8.5% of total admissions.
Within France national market share returned to a more ‘normal’
level of 36.6% in 2007, decreasing from a record high of 44.6% in 2006.
In Germany local films’ market share declined along with the overall
cinema market, falling from 26% to 19%, and contributing 3.9% of total
European admissions, down from 4.9% in the previous year.
Within the United Kingdom national market share increased along with
overall admissions, climbing from 19% to 28%. Local productions like
Hot Fuzz, The Last King of Scotland or Mr. Bean’s
Holiday registered strong box office results not only at home but
across Europe, with Mr. Bean’s Holiday becoming the most
successful European film in 2007. United Kingdom films, excluding those
considered as inward investments, accounted for 6.7% of admissions in
the European Union, up from 2.9% last year. Led by local comedy hits
national market share hit a record high of 33% in Italy, up from 26%
in the previous year. Along with the strong increase in cinema attendance,
Italian films’ share in European admissions increased from 3.1%
to 4.1%.
Films produced in Europe and benefiting from incoming US investment,
such as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, increased
their market share from 5.2% to 6.3%. Market share for US films, including
US films considered as inward investment films in Europe, decreased
from 63.5% to 62.7%.
Table 3: Breakdown of admissions in the European Union according
to the country of origin

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory – LUMIERE database
Harry Potter tops the European charts in 2007
Just like its predecessor in 2005, Harry Potter and the Order of
the Phoenix topped the European charts, selling about 38.4 million
tickets in 2007. It was one out of eight sequels finding a place in
the top 20, with four of these placed in the top 10. Apart from Harry
Potter these included the third and final instalment of the Pirates
of the Caribbean in second place, followed by Shrek the Third
and Spider-Man 3.
Besides United Kingdom inward investment sequel Harry Potter,
two additional European films made it into the top 20 charts. Mr.
Bean’s Holiday attracted an audience of over 15.2 million
people making it the 7th most successful film in Europe in the past
year. Award-winning La Môme took 19th place with some
7.2 million admissions.
Table 4: Top 20 films by admissions in Europe in 2007*

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory – LUMIERE database
(1) 3 097 711 admissions
in Europe in 2006.
The top ranking European films came primarily from the United Kingdom
(6 films), Italy (5 films) and France (4 films). Germany and Spain contributed
3 respectively 1 film to the European top 20, while Polish production
Katyn at number 13 became the only film from outside the major
territories to feature in the charts. Led by Manuale d’amore
2 and Natale in crociera (over 3 million admissions each)
strong national performances brought 5 Italian films into the 2007 ranking,
compared to 2 in the previous year.
Other successful European films included comedies Taxi 4 (5.3
million admissions) and Hot Fuzz (4.8 million), followed by
Spanish horror film El Orfanato (4.3 million) and German award
winning drama Das Leben der Anderen, which registered over
4 million admissions in its second year of release.
Table 5: Top 20 European films by admissions in Europe in
2007*

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory – LUMIERE database
(1) 1 885 018 admissions
in Europe in 2006.
(2) 4 803 481 admissions in Europe in 2006.
* The European charts are based on a compilation
of admissions accounting for about 84% of total cinema attendance in
the European Union plus data for Turkey, Norway and Switzerland
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The European Audiovisual
Observatory will be present at the Marché du Film, Cannes
Stand Riviera A6, Palais des Festivals
Tel +33 (0)6 62 34 93 12
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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 62 34 93 12
More detailed information can
be found in FOCUS 2008. World Film Market Trends
compiled by the European Audiovisual Observatory and published by
the Marché du Film.
Journalists may collect a free press copy of FOCUS
from the Observatory's stand: Stand Riviera A6, Palais des Festivals, tel.
at the stand +33 (0)6 62 34 93 12.
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
films intended for theatrical exploitation, excluding minority co-productions,
US and foreign production in the United Kingdom and and feature documentaries
where separate data series are available.
Market shares (Table 3)
The market shares shown in this figure are based on an analysis of
results of films released in 21 countries members of the European Union
in 2007. 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 2007
shown in table 3 are based on the data on admissions to individual films
as collected in the LUMIERE database on 14th April 2008. 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 84%. Due to
various gaps in data collection and delivery in various countries, coverage
of 100% of admissions is currently unachievable. By the end of 2008,
however, the LUMIERE data coverage rate for EU 27 in 2007 could be expected
to reach around 89 or 90%. For 2007, LUMIERE has still to include additional
data on the following EU countries: Austria, Cyprus, Finland, Greece,
Ireland, Malta, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and
Sweden. 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 4 and 5)
The pan-European film rankings shown in tables 4 and 5 are drawn up
using information stored in the LUMIERE database as of 29th April 2008.
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. 2007 data for 24 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
4 and 5) 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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André Lange (Head of Department, Information
on Markets & Financing)
andre.lange@coe.int - tel.: +33 (0)
3 88 14 44 00
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Martin Kanzler (Analyst, Department for Information
on Markets & Financing)
martin.kanzler@coe.int - tel.:
+33 (0) 3 90 21 60 00
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The European Audiovisual
Observatory
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). |
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Contact : alison.hindhaugh@coe.int
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