Download "Animation films and TV series in Europe – Key figures" here

This brand new report: Animation films and TV series in Europe – Key figures has just been published by the European Audiovisual Observatory, part of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. Authors Marta Jiménez Pumares and Gilles Fontaine have compiled a series of key data on the production and exploitation of European animation films and TV series, including a first-ever estimate of the production of TV series.

The report finds that France and the United Kingdom dominate the European animation scene.

The production and exploitation of European animation theatrical films

4 key findings:

• About 55 films produced each year
• A high share of these are coproductions (37%)
• The importance of exports (about 2/3 of admissions come from outside the main producing country)
• A comparably low market share of cinema admissions in Europe (16%), highly variable depending on a limited number of releases.

Breakdown of worldwide admissions to European animation films (average 2015-2019)

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory

The production and exploitation of European animation TV content

3 key findings:

• The Observatory estimates the annual volume of the production of TV animation in Europe to be around 220 titles (TV movies or TV series seasons), 5200 episodes and 830 hours. (Gathering data on the production of TV animation in Europe faces methodological limits. These figures should be considered as order of magnitudes and as a contribution of the European Audiovisual Observatory to a better understanding of the sector.)
• France and the United Kingdom are by far the main producers of animation TV content.
• European TV animation coproductions account for 36% of all TV animation hours produced, a much higher share than for live TV fiction.

Breakdown of TV animation production by country of origin (hours, av. 2015-2019)

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory

Animation films and TV content in VOD catalogues

3 key findings:

• The weight of animation is significantly high for TV content on Subscription Video-On-Demand Services (22% of titles, where 1 title = 1 film or 1 TV series season)
• The USA (by far) and Japan are the leading providers of animation films and TV series.
• The share of European works is significantly lower for animation (21%) than for all categories of works (33%). The gap concerns both SVOD and TVOD and is particularly noticeable for animation films.