09/07/2014 - Already the number-one cinema chain in Denmark, Nordisk Film Biografer now controls 33% of Norwegian ticket sales from 22 theatres

Denmark’s largest cinema chain, Nordisk Film Biografer, has purchased a 49% share of Kinosør – the four municipal theatres (16 auditoria/3,321 seats) in the municipality of Kristiansand, including the Fønix multiplex, the first theatre in northern Europe with Atmos sound, 4K projection and HFR equipment.

After last year’s acquisition of Norway’s number-one theatrical chain, Oslo Municipal Cinemas, followed by the movie houses in the municipality of Ålesund, Nordisk is now running 22 theatres in Norway, accounting for 33% of the annual national turnover, making it the Norwegian market leader.

“Our ambition is to continue growing and strengthening our market leaderships in both Norway and Denmark. Nordisk and its owner, the Egmont media concern, believe in cinemas, which have turned out to do strong business even during a time of financial crisis,” explained John Tønnes, CEO of Nordisk Film Biografer, which has theatres in 14 Danish cities and will this year open a new multiplex in the Fields Shopping Centre in the Ørestaden area of Copenhagen.

With the annual 340,000 admissions recorded by Fønix, Kinosør – which has a 70-strong staff – sells an annual 0.5 million tickets to reach a yearly €11.4 million gross revenue in the fifth-largest city in Norway, where the chairman of Kristiansand Kino Holding, Espen Saga, welcomes the new associate, calling it “a solid, long-term strategic partner with a deep-rooted desire to positively develop the offer of films in the region”.