Brussels, 13/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - 2012 saw a fall in cinema admissions throughout the European Union but, according to a report by the European Audiovisual Observatory, European film market share has reached record levels. In 2012, attendances for EU films grew by 12% year on year, totalling around 313 million admissions, boosted by Skyfall, a majority UK co-production, which brought the market share of European films within the EU to 33.6%, the highest level of the century. With 22 US films among the 25 films enjoying the most admissions in the EU, US film share of the EU market (based on admissions) is slightly higher than it was last year (61.8%). Cinema attendance fell by 2.2% within the Union, down to 933.3 million admissions. Countries like Finland (19.7% growth) and Romania (up 15.4%) bucked the downward trend. As for the larger markets, the UK remained stable and Germany grew by 4.3% on the previous year. Although France sold the highest number of tickets in the EU (203.4 million), attendances fell by 6.3%. This drop in admissions did not prevent gross box-office revenues from reaching, for the second year running, a record high of €6.47 billion. This was achieved thanks to the hike of ticket prices (2012 average was €6.9) due to 3D releases. (IL/transl.fl)