Spanish cinema increases its market share, but is still below potential

by Sergio Ríos Pérez

19/01/2012 - The quantity and quality of Spanish releases in 2011 boded for a quiet year for cinema. Faced with the political wave battering the sector (see news), at least on the box-office front things were set to be under control. And so it was, although the results were below expectations and, above all, below the potential of the Spanish film industry. As we await the official figures, which the ICAA usually presents once the year is well underway, around March, the first estimates show an increase of three percent in the market share of Spanish productions (from 12% to 15%, although this is still well below the target set by producers, at around 25%) and a substantial upturn in total box-office takings (from €80m to €95.7m).

One of the most positive conclusions is without doubt the increase in the number of films that guarantee a good box-office performance, of over €2m. This year, 17 films topped this figure, whereas only 11 did so in 2010 and 2009 and eight in 2008. There were fewer films with over €5m in takings (only three, the same as that terrible year 2010, compared to seven in 2009 and six in 2008), but much more between €2m and €5m (14, compared to eight in 2010, four in 2009 and two in 2008).

However, keeping up overall box-office figures continues to depend to a large extent on the success of a few films. In a reasonable year like 2011, one film alone, Torrente 4, achieved around 20% of total takings for all Spanish films.

Meanwhile, Antena 3 Films confirms its position as Spain’s most successful production company. According to figures announced by that same company, the nine films it released this year raked in €34m, i.e. 40.6% of takings for Spanish cinema.

Provisional list of the highest-grossing Spanish productions or co-productions:

1 - Torrente 4: Lethal Crisis [trailer], by Santiago Segura - €19.6m
2 - Midnight in Paris [trailer], by Woody Allen - €8m
3 - Brain Drain 2 [trailer], by Carlos Therón – €5m
4 - The Skin I Live In [trailer, film focus], by Pedro Almodóvar – €4.62m
5 - No Rest For the Wicked [trailer], by Enrique Urbizu – €4.1m
6 - Even the Rain [trailer, film focus], by Icíar Bollaín – €3.9m
7 - Sleep Tight [trailer], by Jaume Balagueró - €3.6m
8 - Cousinhood [trailer], by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo - €3.6m
9 – Red Eagle: The Film [trailer], by José Ramón Ayerra Díaz - €3.04m
10 – Intruders [trailer, film focus], by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo – €2.7m

Source: Boxoffice.es

(Translated from Spanish)