05/05/2006

Following the dismal box office figures of 2005, exhibitors are smiling once again. According to statistics released today by distributors and exhibitors, German theatres welcomed 18% more cinemagoers than last year or 33 million, compared to 28 million for the same period in 2005. As a result, box office takings also saw an increase (18.08%).

This renewed interest, helped in part by the recent "Kino. Dafür werden Filme gemacht"("It’s for cinema that we make films") initiative is such that the good results recorded in 2004 have been exceeded this year by a 5.92% rise in admissions and a 6.61% increase in box office takings.

The most successful film of the past four months has been Ice Age 2, boasting admissions of over 8m and grossing more than €39m. The Wild Soccer Bunch 3 and Summer in Berlin garnered 2m and 800,000 admissions, respectively, while Das Leben der Anderen had 700,000 admissions.

Exhibitors are optimistic for the rest of 2006, especially because of the growing number of young audiences. What’s more, the wonderful releases lined up – such as Mission: Impossible III, released yesterday, the film adaptation of the novel Perfume [+see also:
trailer
film profile], the thriller The Da Vinci Code, the action comedy Fluch der Karibik 2, and the children’s film Hui Buh - das Schlossgespenst (with Bully Herbig) – are expected to draw in the crowds, as should Superman Returns, 7 Zwerge and United 93.

As Jan Oesterlin, director of ZKM (Zukunft Kino Marketing) pointed out, the variety of films and the presence of German blockbusters, both of which 2005 sorely lacked, will only confirm the positive trend. Exhibitors and distributors are not afraid of football’s World Cup either – on the contrary, they plan to take advantage of the event by releasing tempting titles that will offer audiences a pleasant alternative to the sporting event, as well as by showing matches on the big screen.

(Translated from French)