09/05/2003 - Thanks to the 22 new Norwegian films made in 2002. Children's films achieved the greatest success, while Pål Øie's thriller Villmark has been a hit at the box office for more than 10 weeks

In in the first four months of 2003, Norwegian films attracted one million spectators into cinemas. After a spectacular beginning to the year, the number of tickets sold in April showed the same figures compared to the same month in 2002, for a record total of 1.019.607 tickets sold.

It was thanks to 22 new Norwegian films produced in 2002, 9 of which distributed in the first quarter of the year, achieving (despite the drop in April) the important quote of 25% of the domestic market share. Children's films achieved the greatest success, registering 675.000 viewers. This was thanks to two very successful films produced by the Nordisk Film & TV AS, the first being a children's version of the adventures of the most famous criminal group of Northern Europe, Arne Lindtner Næss's Olsenbanden jr. går under vann, which alone reaped an attendance of 343.837 in theatres, and Peder Norlund's Ulvesommer, second in the ratings with 193.475 viewers.

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Pelle Politibil, produced by Yellow Cottage A/S , directed by Thomas Kaiser made a good position, drawing attention to the effectiveness of Norwegian governmental support for productions intended for children and families. Among the other full-length films, Pål Øie's thriller Villmark unexpectedly turned out to be the Norwegian public's third best loved film, a box office hit for more than 10 weeks, with a number of moviegoers equal to 177.000 euro.

(Translated from Italian)