Cinema attendance figures hold up well in 2008. - At the 59th Berlin International Film Festival, the European Audiovisual Observatory released its first estimates for European cinema attendance in 2008. The study covers the 27 member states, Switzerland, Norway, the Russian Federation and Turkey. Overall, the Observatory estimates that the total number of admissions in the European Union showed a marginal increase on 2007. With some 920 million tickets sold, attendances rose by just 0.3% on 2007 levels. The most notable change was in the Russian Federation, where attendances rose by over 16% to 124 million tickets sold. This total makes Russia the fourth largest cinema market in Europe in terms of attendances. The largest market is France, with 189 million tickets sold, followed by the United Kingdom (164 million) and Germany (129 million). Bringing up the rear are the new member states, and especially Bulgaria (2.8 million tickets sold, nonetheless, a sharp increase), Latvia (2.4 million) and Estonia (1.6 million). In absolute terms, the most significant rises in attendances were in Russia, (+17.3 million; +16.2%), France (+11.1 million; +6.2%), Turkey (+7.4 million; +23.6%) and Germany (+4 million; +3.2%). While attendance increased by 1.1% in the UK (+1.8 million), admissions dropped by an estimated 4.1% in Italy (- 4.8 million) and by 7.6% in Spain (- 8.9 million). In Italy the year-on-year decline followed exceptionally good results in 2007, but Spain saw its fourth consecutive year of declining admissions levels. In the rest of Europe, significant growth in cinema attendance was seen in a number of Central and Eastern European countries: Slovakia (+18.2%), Bulgaria (+12.1%) and Poland (+3.4%). Scandinavia was established as another growth region in 2008 with admissions rising in Norway (+9.7%), Denmark (+8.9%), Finland (+7.4%) and Sweden (+1.5%). 2008 proved to be another year of strong demand for national productions, with market shares for local productions increasing in 14 out of the 19 European Union countries for which provisional data is available. In many countries the success of national films contributed significantly to driving or stabilising overall cinema attendance. National market share exceeded 30% in a total of 5 countries. The 10 top films in terms of attendances in Turkey were all local films, with market share reaching almost 60%, the highest level in any of the European countries covered by the Observatory. Then come France (45.7%, driven by the phenomenal success of Bienvenue chez les Cht'is), the Czech Republic (39.6%; thanks to Báthory), Denmark (33%; Flammen & Citronen) and the UK (31%; Mamma, Mia! Quantum of Solace). Record national market shares were also achieved in Germany (26.6%; Keinohrhasen), Norway (22.5%; Max Manus), Poland (25.4%; Lejdis), the Netherlands (17.8%; Oorlogswinter), Belgium (~ 10%; Loft) and Austria (6%; Echte Wiener). (I.L./transl.rt)