Increase in cinema box office takings throughout European Union, thanks to 3D - According to the most recent statistics provided by the European Audiovisual Observatory, European Union gross box office takings reached a record level in 2010, thanks to 3-D. Gross box office (GBO) takings increased by 5% year-on-year to around €6.45 billion, the highest level on record. In contrast to 2009, box office growth was exclusively driven by an increase in average ticket prices as admissions actually decreased by 1.6% to 967 million tickets sold. These data seem to reflect the impact of 3D films in their second year on the market. While it can be assumed that the novelty factor of 3D had significantly contributed in driving growth in cinema attendance in 2009, 3D films failed to further increase ticket sales in 2010 but kept cinema attendance at the second highest level since 2004 and caused the average ticket price to increase by an estimated 6.8%. A surge in 3D screens helped an increasing number of stereoscopic blockbusters to better exploit their market potential and caused market shares for 3D films to increase dramatically in major European markets like France and Germany, where they took 16% and 17% of total admissions, or the UK and Russia, where they took 24% and 20% of total GBO. On the level of individual markets, 2010 was a year of mixed results with cinema attendance trends varying significantly across the individual European countries. Admissions decreased in 14 and increased in 13 of EU markets, while GBO increased in 18 and decreased in 8 of the EU markets for which provisional data were available. Theatrical markets, which performed particularly well, were Italy, with admissions up 11% and France, where GBO rose 5.6%. The dramatic increase in market share of primarily US 3D blockbusters over the past two years seems to have contributed to market share for European films falling to the lowest level in the past five years. After steadily rising to 28.3% in 2008, the market share for European films in the EU decreased to 26.8% in 2009 and 25.3% in 2010, according to provisional estimates by the European Audiovisual Observatory. Market share for US films on the other hand grew from 66.9% to an estimated 68.0%. This compares to levels ranging between 63% and 65% in the years 2006 to 2008. European films produced in Europe with incoming US investment increased their market share from 4.0% to 5.4%. French films once more attracted the largest number of admissions out of all European films. Backed by strong results in their home market, Italian films ranked second, taking 4.1%, followed by German productions, which accounted for 3.1% of total admissions in the EU. In 2010, EU production levels continued to grow to a new record, though at a slower pace compared to previous years. Based on the provisional data available, the Observatory estimates that a total of 1,203 theatrical feature films, including feature documentaries, were produced within the EU member states, 19 films more than 2009. Overall EU growth was driven by an increase in feature documentaries (+32 films) while the number of fiction films decreased (-13), increasing the share of feature documentaries to 28%, while fiction films accounted for 72% of total production volume in 2010. With 203 feature films receiving official recognition in 2010, France reached a historic record high and became again the country with the highest production output in Europe, followed by Spain with 186 films produced. (I.L.trans/fl)