Brussels, 14/05/2003 (Agence Europe) - As part of its preparations for the Cannes Film Festival, the European Audiovisual Observatory has just published the results of a survey into trends in the European cinema market in 2002. Its findings show that the number of people attending the cinema in Europe is levelling off, and that the market lacks key films.
In a press release, the Observatory notes, amongst other things, that: 1) in 2002, growth in cinema attendance in the EU was less sustained than in 2001, in other words, an increase of just 0.5%, bringing the total attendance to 933 million ticket sales. Finland registered the highest growth rate (+18.5%) of EU countries, and the UK market also showed progress, with 176 million ticket sales (or 13% up on 2001), thus becoming the second largest market in the EU after France in terms of visits. The largest decreases were registered in Germany (-7.9%) and Spain (-4%). Of the non-EU members, Estonia, the Russian Federation, Slovenia and Switzerland registered positive growth rates; 2) the overall market share of films produced in Europe was around 27% in 2002 (a drop from 31% in 2001); 3) the total production volume of full-length films remained stable in 2002, but UK, French and German producers turned increasingly towards co-productions. British films remain the ones with the highest estimated costs, reaching an average of 9.98 million Euros, whereas the average cost of a French film was 4.44 million Euros in 2002. Info: http: //http://www.obs.coe.int