The South African film industry experienced what may be a monumental progression in its life-cycle, at least that is what the final installment of the 2010 Box Office Report alludes to.

The report is an aggregated review of the exhibition sector’s performance and periodic growth pattern which was initiated by the first two releases of the report. A clinical view of how South African films fare against international films is assumed in the report and the associated trends are reflected upon.

The report observes that the growth in the number of local films exhibited over the past year has been received with a positive measure of confidence by audiences and that it exhibits signs that promise a continuation of the trend. An impressive 23 local films hit the silver screen last year and commanded a market share of 11% in terms of box office receipts. Local films were preceded only by US originated films which, as has become the norm, dominated the market both in screen time and box office receipts.

Some of the major revenue earning titles were: Schucks Tshabalala – R38 million, Twilight: Eclipse – R27.5 million, Shrek Forever After – R23.8 million, to name a few. An intriguing break from the norm lead to three South African films (Shucks Tshabalala, Spud – R16,5 milllion, and Liefling – 13,3 million) being on the list of the top 12 performing films in the local exhibition market. That is to say that 25% of the highest grossing films in the local exhibition market in 2010 were local features. The report’s conclusive findings were that a total of 6 local titles released in 2010 were Afrikaans language films and they cumulatively accounted for R25.6 Million of Box office receipts.

The report also finds that there exists clear competitive behaviour for audiences in the exhibition industry, with Nu Metro acquiring the largest market share of 41% in gross revenues for all titles released in 2010. In contrast, Indigenous Films is the market share leader in terms of local titles released, commanding a strong 64% market share in gross receipts.