23/04/2008

Audience figures for Polish theatres have remained at an impressive level of over 30m in the past two years (32.6m in 2007 and 32m in 2006, after the crisis year of 2005 with only 23m admissions). This fact is certainly linked to the increase in domestic film production, as domestic titles are often well placed in the Top 10.

In the 2007 box office rankings, five Polish titles make it into the Top 10: Andrzej Wajda’s Katyń [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrzej Wajda
interview: Michal Kwiecinski
film profile] (2.7m admissions); Testosteron by Tomasz Konecki and Andrzej Saramonowicz (1.4m); Ryszard Zatorski’s Dlaczego nie! [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (“Why Not!”, 1.1m); State Witness [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Jaroslaw Sypniewski and Jacek Filipiak (960,000); and Stanislaw Tym’s Ryś (809,000). Altogether, the five films attracted 7m viewers.

The strong position of domestic productions, and in particular romantic comedies, is confirmed by the success of Lejdis by directorial duo Konecki & Saramonowicz. Released on February 1, 2008, the film has garnered a record 2.4m admissions in two months.

There was also a considerable increase in market shares between 2006 and 2007. Domestic films more than doubled their market share (24.58% in 2007 compared to 11.2% in 2006), but this was to the detriment of European productions (only 18.8% in 2007 compared to 29.2% in 2006), whereas US films maintained a stable market share (53.3% in 2007 and 51.6% in 2006).

One fact that cannot have escaped Polish cinemagoers is the increase in admission prices. Even though the average admission price remains lower than in Western Europe, it nonetheless rose to €4.1 in 2007 (compared to €3.8 in 2006).

The fact that despite increased admissions prices audience figures still rose slightly should be considered a sign of success and proof of the increasing wealth of Polish society.

But it is to the multiplexes – which largely dominate the market – that these millions of viewers flock to see films. Multiplexes have seen strong dynamic growth: their number rose from 46 in 2006 to 59 in 2007, and the trend continues in 2008.

The figures clearly indicate the dominance of multiplexes: 23.8m of the 32.6m viewers patronised the multiplexes, which in turn grossed €109m of the total €127m in box office takings.

(Translated from French)