28/08/2009

The German film regulating body FFA has published figures for the first semester, which show the sector’s dynamism despite the crisis.

Between the start of January and the end of June, 65m admissions were recorded (+6.5% compared to the same period last year), generating a turnover of €422.1m (+13.4% compared to €372.4m in the first half of 2008), a level that hadn’t been reached since 2002 (and this despite the slight drop in the number of theatres).

German (co-)productions attracted 16.3m viewers, representing a market share of 25.4% (second highest score ever posted by the FFA after last year’s record of 33.9%). March was a particularly successful month, with a market share of 44.1%, which has only been exceeded once since FFA statistics began.

After Angels and Demons (4.2m admissions), the most popular films among audiences were The Reader [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (2.1m), Männersache [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (1.8m), Valkyrie (1.3m) and Lilly the Witch: The Dragon and the Magic Book [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (1.2m). All four were financed by the FFA or DFFF (German Federal Film Fund).

FFA director Peter Dinges commented that two significant points emerge from these good results: "The market share for US films in comparison with the good market share for German productions and, in addition, the fact that cinema remains one of the only sectors experiencing growth in these times of crisis".

This trend has been confirmed during the summer, thanks to Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Harry Potter [+see also:
trailer
film profile]. July saw 50% more admissions than the same month in 2008.

The second semester promises to be equally successful, with the release of Michael "Bully" Herbig’s Vicky the Viking, Sönke Wortmann’s Pope Joan [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Til Schweiger’s ZweiOhrKüken (“Chick With Two Ears”), the sequel to Rabbit Without Ears [+see also:
trailer
film profile].

For the first time, out of this year’s 262 releases, the FFA separately evaluated the German titles (105, i.e. 22 more than the first semester of 2008), US films (79, i.e. nine fewer but with a stable market share of 65%) and non-German European titles. Admissions for the latter rose from 1.8m to 5.5m, mainly thanks to Slumdog Millionaire [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Danny Boyle
film profile] and Welcome to the Sticks [+see also:
trailer
film profile].

Detailed figures and analyses will soon be available on the FFA website, in the Markdaten section.

(Translated from French)