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ADMISSIONS UK

Slower first two months of the year

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After a rousing final quarter of 2005 that drove admissions up by 7.6% in October (15.5m), 4.1% in November (15.1m) and as much as 20.5% in December (17.6m), January and February 2006 admissions slipped back respectively to 13.9m and 12.8m.

The average weekly admissions for January were still at a respectable level (3.18m), with two US blockbusters released at the end of 2005 that drove numbers up: The Chronicles of Narnia, which has grossed £10.3m, and King Kong (£9.4m). In February, weekly admissions were at 3.14m and the two biggest successes were Chicken Little (over £11m) and Final Destination 3 (£7m).

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Only four UK co-productions were in the Top 15 of last weekend’s UK box office chart, taking 22.7% of the gross: V For Vendetta, released by Warner Bros, was at number two with £1.9m from 410 screens; Tsotsi [+see also:
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, released by Momentum, at number ten with £200,359 from 86 screens; The Proposition [+see also:
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, released by Tartan, at number 14 with £104,892 from 115 screens (total gross £446,082); and Good Night, and Good Luck, released by Lions Gate UK (ex Redbus) at number 15, with £82,050 from 127 screens. The small UK film Kidulthood managed to take an extra £67,532 from 41 screens, reaching over £2m thanks to an aggressive marketing campaign by Revolver Distribution.

Today, 10 new titles are opening in the UK and Ireland, including three older European co-productions: the 2003 French film Strayed (Les égarés) by André Techiné, released by Soda Pictures in two London cinemas; John Irvin’s 2002 Irish film The Boys From County Clare, released by Lions Gate UK only in Ireland; and Extrano, the 2003 film by Argentinean director Santiago Loza, co-produced with France, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Among the other seven new openers is US independent film Romance and Cigarettes by John Turturro, starring Kate Winslet and released by Icon Film Distribution.

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