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MARKET Norway

Norwegian film exports set new record

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- Spearheaded by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg’s Kon-Tiki, 16 films earned €6.5 million from international sales

Norwegian film exports set new record
Kon-Tiki by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg

Although 2012 was no record year for Norwegian films on the local market, 16 of the country’s titles (out of a total of 23) earned €6.5 million from international sales – an all-time high, exceeding the previous record from 2010 by 7%. Meanwhile, domestic movies took 2.1 million admissions to control 17.8% of the attendance, the lowest since 2007.

According to new statistics from the Norwegian Film Institute, covering the 23 theatrical releases between 1 January and 31 December 2012 – including six documentaries and two children’s films – 16 of them were licensed to foreign markets.

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The domestic box office was dominated by Norwegian directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg’s Oscar-nominated Kon-Tiki [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
from Nordisk Film Production, which took 881,658 admissions – “a story with a strong international appeal, without which the export figures would also have looked different”, the institute explained.

With the relatively few Norwegian premieres, one really successful film – the annual “locomotive” – can have a decisive influence on the final export result. One such example was Norwegian director Morten Tyldum’s Headhunters [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
in 2011, it appears from the survey.

Seven films from the 2012 catalogue were never sold, while 11 brought in between €0 and €115,000; three racked up international sales of €0.1-0.6 million each, including Norwegian director Nils Gaup’s The Journey to the Christmas Star [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, from Moskus Film

Since 2002, Norwegian film exports have increased by 682%.

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