04/03/2008

Cinema admissions for Norwegian films had a record start of the year with a 26.1% market share for the first two months of 2008. Nils Gaup’s historic film The Kautokeino Rebellion [+see also:
trailer
film profile] played a big part in this positive trend, and is the biggest hit of the year so far (287,427 admissions)

Last weekend, Kautokeino was still number six in the top ten, after six weeks on general release through Sandrew Metronome, although three other titles scored even better.

The action thriller The Night of the Wolf [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Swedish filmmaker Kjell Sundvall opened for a top position at the local charts with almost 20,000 tickets from 60 screens for Nordisk Film, according to Filmweb Rapportserver.

Stian Kristiansen’s critically-acclaimed directorial debut The Man Who Loved Yngve [+see also:
trailer
film profile], produced by Motlys Film, was number four with over 108,000 admissions from 57 screens, and the children’s film SOS-Summer of Suspense by Arne Lindtner Næss was number five with over 87,000 admissions. Both films were released by Nordisk mid-February.

Commenting on the great start of the year for local films, Lene Løke, head of cinema association Film & Kino, said: “Today, there is a lot of competition between cinemas and other film carriers such as DVD. People choose much more carefully when they go to the movies, and films have to be much more interesting and appealing. Our Minister of Culture Trond Giske has shown a great interest in film and has given filmmakers the opportunity to make better movies.

“Also, for the last ten years, our National Film School (in Lillehammer) has nurtured a younger generation of filmmakers and producers who are now hitting the market. These are various reasons that can explain the increased market share for Norwegian films, which will hopefully reach 20% for the whole of 2008.”

Last year, cinema attendance in Norway fell by 10%, but Norwegian films remained stable with a 16.4% market share and 1.7m admissions.