14/09/2006

As FFA figures on the first semester of 2006 show, the dismal record of 2005 is no more than a bad memory. German films have seen an increase in admissions and market share.

While not reaching 2002 levels (80.4m admissions in the first semester), the number of tickets sold in the first six months of 2006 has increased by 7.8%, with 65.1m admissions (compared to 60.3m in 2005).

Turnover has risen from €352.6 to €384.1m (8.9%), placing the results of this first semester halfway between the negative results of 2005 and the €410/420m figures of 2003 and 2004 over the same period - for approximately the same number of screens (1,216 on June 30, 2006) and a higher number of releases (92, an increase of 23 on the previous year).

German films have reached new heights, increasing their market share to 19.9% (compared to 19% last year and only 13.2% in 2004) and 12.8m admissions.

2006 got off to a good start for local titles, with the release of Summer in Berlin [+see also:
trailer
film profile], an Oscar nomination for Sophie Scholl [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and over 50 films presented at the Berlin Film Festival (including four in competition, not counting co-productions).

The success of Die wilden Kerle 3 (2.1m admissions), Die wilden Hühner (1.1m) and The Lives of Others [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Florian Henckel von Donners…
interview: Ulrich Muehe
film profile] (1.3m) has also contributed to a renewed interest from German audiences.

The Lives of Others has attracted much interest for genre films that address specific audiences, such as children’s films (e.g., Der Raüber Hotzenplotz and Felix II, in addition to the aforementioned titles), documentaries (Gröning's Into Great Silence [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Philip Groening
film profile] in first place - see Cineuropa's Focus), and literary adaptations (Atomised [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Franka Potente & Moritz Ble…
interview: Oskar Roehler
film profile] - see Focus – and The Cloud [+see also:
trailer
film profile]).

This week's new releases are also proof of the vitality of German cinema (of the five new films being released today, three are German and one is a co-production).

(Translated from French)