Box office takings for domestic film rise by 177%

by María Gómez

06/10/2008 - Spanish films released in the first half of 2008 amassed 177% more box office takings per print compared to the same period last year, according to a study carried out by the consultancy firm Media Research & Consultancy.

Spanish cinemas screened 59 Spanish productions and (co-)productions, i.e. six less than the previous year. However, takings for domestic films increased by 135.08% during this period, reaching a figure of €34,209,879. Earnings per print rose by 177%.

Four productions released during the first four months of the year are primarily responsible for this success. The Oxford Murders, Mortadelo and Filemon: Mission - Save the Planet, Asterix at the Olympic Games [trailer] and Chef’s Special [trailer] each garnered over €6.5m.

Three of the titles drew over 1m viewers: Spanish co-productions The Oxford Murders and Asterix at the Olympic Games, and the 100% domestic production Mortadelo and Filemón: Mission - Save the Planet. No film exceeded the threshold of 1m viewers in 2007 (Ekipo Ja attracted the highest audience figures with 295,458 admissions).

The study also reveals the growing importance of mega-productions in the Spanish film industry. Whereas in 2007 titles that amassed over €1m represented 37.2% of the total, in 2008 this figure rose to 77.5%.

There was a decrease in the number of prints released, as there was in the quantity of films produced. In 2007, an average of 61.9 prints per film were shown, compared with 57.8 for the same period in 2008s. This also contributed to the fact that in 2008 each print garnered an average of €10,029, i.e. 177.12% more than in 2007.