Europe strikes back against US box-office domination

Date: 23/05/02

By Peter Chapman

THE EU film market struck back with a bumper 2001 after suffering one of its worst years on record in 2000, according to a report by the Strasbourg-based European Audiovisual Observatory.

Provisional figures show 34.5% of all films distributed in the EU in 2001 were of European origin. Of those, 25.5% were national films in their own market.

That compares with a market share of only 23% in 2000, of which 15% were films playing in their own country. But the report shows the EU sector still failed to make much of a dent in Hollywood's dominance of the European market.

Even though its share dropped from 73% to 65.2%, US productions accounted for all top ten films ranked by admissions - though the second and third-ranked movies, Bridget Jones's Diary and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring were co-produced in the UK and New Zealand.

Warner's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - a film adaptation of a book by British author J.K. Rowling - heads the list with nearly 43 million admissions.

The top-ranked all-EU film was French-German produced Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, in which Audrey Tautou portrayed Amélie, an innocent girl in Paris who decides to help those around her and, along the way, discovers love.

The film, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, was seen by 13.2 million EU customers.

In a bumper year for cinema admissions, Europeans made 920 million trips to the big screen - 9.4% greater than 2000 levels. Strongest growth came in Germany (16.7%), Denmark (11.5%), France (11.4%) and the Netherlands (11.2%). However cinemagoers in Finland voted with their feet after sharp increases in ticket prices - registering a 8.5% drop in admissions.

Meanwhile soon-to-be EU members also recorded encouraging attendance figures. Of those countries where data were available, Poland and Hungary scored the highest rises, up 40.1% and 26.5% respectively from 2000.

European production was also up last year, with 625 films produced in Europe in 2001, compared with 595 in 2000. Most of the growth came in France, where 172 films were classed as 'French initiative', up from 145 in 2000. Germany also made more films - 83, compared with 76 in 2000.

However production slipped back significantly in Italy (90 compared to 96 in 2000), and Sweden (25 compared to 38 in 2000).

• Top ten films in the EU

1) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (US). Directed by Chris Columbus. 42,942,206 admissions.

2) Bridget Jones's Diary (UK/US). Directed by Sharon Maguire. 26,439,136 admissions.

3) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (US/NZ).

Directed by Peter Jackson. 21,104,825 admissions.

4) Shrek (US). Vicky Jenson, Andrew Adamson. 20,971,755 admissions.

5) What Women Want (US). Directed by Nancy Meyers. 20,685,021 admissions.

6) Hannibal (US). Directed by Ridley Scott. 18,060,768 admissions.

7) American Pie 2 (US). Directed by James B. Rogers. 17,549,403 admissions.

8) The Mummy Returns (US). Directed by Stephen Sommers. 17,366,868 admissions.

9) Pearl Harbor (US). Directed by Michael Bay. 16,967,801 admissions.

10) Cast Away (US). Directed by Robert Zemeckis. 16,879,650 admissions.

• Ranking on the basis of available data in 11 countries during 2001.

The EU film market struck back in 2001 after suffering one of its worst years on record in 2000, according to a report by the European Audiovisual Observatory.