Brussels, 11/05/2005 (Agence Europe) - On the eve of the 2005 Cannes film festival, the European Audiovisual Observatory has produced an analysis of European cinema, particularly within the European Union. For the second time since 1990, the milestone of one billion admissions has been topped: 1005 million cinema tickets were sold in the EU25, a 6% increase compared to 2003.
According to the Observatory, All major European Union markets recorded rising admissions, led by an impressive 12.3% increase in France (194.8 million tickets sold in 2004 as opposed to 173.5 million in 2003 - 21.3 million more admissions), followed by Italy with a 9.5% increase (115 million tickets as opposed to 105 million in 2003). On the medium-sized markets, Poland did well with 33.4 million tickets sold in 2004 (23.8 million in 2003), a startling increase of 40.5% increase on the 2003 total. Austria also did will with total 2004 admissions reaching 19.4 million, a 9.4% increase (17.7 million in 2003). 764 feature films were produced in the European Union in 2004 (a 2% increase in relation to the preceding year). The Spanish production sector in particular showed dynamism in 2004, completing a total of 92 entirely nationally financed films, 24 more than in 2003. The average production budget of a French film rose by 15% to reach EUR 5.34 million (from EUR 4.63 million in 2003). Although some countries experienced lower admissions, such as Finland and Sweden (-10.4% and -8.6% respectively), Europeans' passion for the cinema is in general an undiminished reality. The USA has understood this very well. The overall market share for American films in the 25 Member States (including international co-productions involving a US producer and one or more European partners) remains preponderant: 71.4% (in 2003 71.1%); 26.5% in 2004 (26.8% in 2003) for European films. Added to which, are the international co productions in which US producers are omnipresent. According to Observatory ratings among the twenty films distributed in Europe which had the most admissions in 2004 (at least 10 million) were Shrek 2 topping the bill with 43 million tickets sold and 6 million sold for the international co production Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ((40 million sold). Although the strength of the US in this area is impressive, three European films figure in this league: Bridget Jones, The Edge of Reason in 10th position (a mainly European co production), Les Choristes in 17th place and (T)raumschiff Surprise-period 1 in 20th place. In 2003 only two Europeans achieved this kind of success, Johnny English in 11th place and Love Actually in 14th position. Good results for local films in 2004 on several major European markets, notably German films in Germany and French films in France saw this overall share of the market rise to 26.5% for European films. It is interesting to note that 25% of European admissions for Les Choristes were attained outside the French market (out of 9 markets). Certainly distribution is an important factor, not only for the success of a film but also for increasing market share.
For more information: (http: //http://www.obs.coe.int/about/oea/pr/mif2005.html )