Cinema attendance across the Nordic region showed modest signs of stabilisation in 2025, driven largely by strong domestic performances rather than a full recovery of international supply. Rising ticket prices, seasonal imbalances and the continued absence of major Hollywood blockbusters remain key pressure points heading into 2026.

Zooming in on Denmark, cinema admissions rose by 4.5% year on year, reaching 10,249,930 visits in 2025, up from 9.8 million in 2024. Growth was driven primarily by domestic films, with Danish titles accounting for a 37% market share, an increase of 13% compared to the previous year.

Six Danish productions featured in the annual top ten, ranging from the animated children’s hit Checkered Ninja 3, which attracted 777,000 admissions, to Anders Thomas Jensen’s dark family comedy-drama The Last Viking [+lire aussi :
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interview : Anders Thomas Jensen
fiche film], seen by around 724,000 cinemagoers. In total, 39 Danish films were released in 2025, compared to just 19 the year before.

Industry observers broadly agree that admissions would have been even higher had there been a more typical supply of major Hollywood blockbusters.

Despite the positive figures, concerns remain. Average ticket prices rose to DKK 103.3 in 2025 (approximately €13.8), a 5% increase compared to 2024. Further price increases could begin to deter audiences.

Looking ahead, analysts expect admissions in Denmark in 2026 to remain broadly in line with 2025 levels, although with a slightly weaker contribution from domestic films.

Meanwhile, Norway also recorded a modest increase in admissions, which reached 8,375,266 in 2025, up 2.49% from 8,172,183 in 2024. However, Norwegian films performed particularly well, attracting 2,623,972 admissions, compared to 2,026,886 the previous year. This corresponds to a local market share of 31%, regarded by analysts as exceptionally high, even if overall attendance remains well below the 13.3 million admissions achieved in 2016.

The most successful film of the year was the Norwegian family comedy A Mouse Hunt for Christmas, which drew 450,941 admissions and outperformed all major Hollywood releases. Exhibitors also benefitted from another popular Second World War-themed title: The Battle of Oslo, which ranked among the top five films of the year with 376,679 admissions.

Another Norwegian production in the top five was the animated comedy Rally from Paris to the Pyramids, which sold 272,176 tickets, once again highlighting the enduring appeal of family films. Joachim Trier’s awards contender Sentimental Value [+lire aussi :
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interview : Joachim Trier
fiche film] also delivered a solid performance, with around 250,000 admissions.

Fewer Norwegian films are scheduled for release in 2026, and local market share is therefore expected to decline. However, exhibitors are hoping that a stronger Hollywood slate will compensate for the drop in domestic output.

Final box-office figures for Sweden will only be available next month. Interviewed by the Nordisk Film and TV Fond website, Peter Fornstam, chairman of the Swedish Cinema Owners’ Association and CEO of Svenska Bio, confirmed that admissions are expected to reach around 9.8 million in 2025, down from 10.3 million in 2024. Even last year’s result was considered disappointing, given that admissions stood at around 17 million less than a decade ago.

Swedish market share fell sharply in 2025, to an estimated 11.8%, compared to 22% in 2024 — the highest level recorded in almost ten years. According to Fornstam, the decline was largely due to a lack of domestic releases rather than a loss of audience interest.

“It’s not because people didn’t see Swedish films. There were no Swedish films,” he said, adding that when local titles such as Hannes Holm’s Let It Rain were released later in the year, they performed strongly.

Fornstam struck an optimistic note about the year ahead, pointing out that 2026 has started well and that a stronger Hollywood line-up should help admissions recover.

In Finland, admissions declined slightly in 2025, falling to 6.3 million from 6.8 million in 2024. Box-office revenues slipped by 4%, from €89.5 million to €85.8 million. Nevertheless, the local market share remained stable at 32%.

There was no single runaway hit comparable to Tiina Lymi’s Stormskerry Maja [+lire aussi :
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fiche film], the top film of 2024, but domestic output was broader. Seven of the ten most-watched films of the year were Finnish. The most successful local title was Teemu Nikki’s rural dark comedy 100 Litres of Gold [+lire aussi :
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interview : Teemu Nikki
fiche film], which attracted 235,060 admissions.

Also performing strongly was Cancel, a comedy featuring several popular YouTube and social media personalities. The film drew 166,982 admissions and proved effective at attracting younger audiences who do not regularly attend cinemas.

Local films once again surpassed the symbolically important threshold of two million admissions. However, over the past 30 years, non-Finnish films have typically generated around 6.7 million admissions annually. In 2024 and 2025, that figure fell to 4.6 million and 4.3 million respectively, a significant drop. Seasonal imbalances also remain a concern, particularly the sharp decline in attendance during July, when neither local nor Hollywood releases gained traction.

Finally, 2025 marked the weakest year for admissions to Icelandic films since 2013.

Despite strong festival exposure, Hlynur Pálmason’s family drama The Love That Remains [+lire aussi :
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interview : Hlynur Pálmason
fiche film] failed to translate its Cannes premiere into box-office success, grossing around $130,000 in Icelandic cinemas (approximately €120,000).

Local producers have increasingly focused on television drama rather than feature films, contributing to the downturn. However, with several new productions expected to shoot in 2026, industry figures anticipate a recovery in market share by 2027.