European films have attracted bigger audiences in 2012, seeing a 5.6 percent increase in market share to reach 33.6 percent share of EU cinema admissions – the highest level recorded so far this century. Overall cinema admissions were down last year by 2.2 percent, but Romania bucked the trend, with local admissions rising by 15.4 percent in 2012.

Despite the drop in EU cinema admissions, Gross Box Office (GBO) takings reached another record high in 2012, reaching EUR 6.74 billion, helped by the sale of premium priced tickets for 3D screenings, according to the European Audiovisual Observatory.

Attendance of EU made films rose by 12 percent year-on-year in 2012, reaching around 313 million admissions. As well as foiling Javier Bardem's evil plans, James Bond gave European cinema a big boost with the runaway box office success of the latest Bond film Skyfall. With 44 million admissions in the EU and 36 million in North America, Skyfall became the highest-grossing Bond film ever.

As well as Romania, Finland also saw a rise in cinema admissions last year, up 19.7 percent. Meanwhile, out of the biggest EU markets, attendance in the UK remained steady and rose by 4.3 percent in Germany. Although recording the highest ticket sales in the EU, over 203 million, cinema attendance dropped by 6.3 percent in France last year.

Hollywood remains well out in front for European cinema audiences, with the market share of US films up slightly to 62.8 percent and 22 films out of the box office top 25 in the EU being US productions.

The most attended Romanian film in the EU has been Cristian Mungiu's Cannes prize-winning Dupa Dealuri/Beyond the Hills. The film has racked up nearly 97,000 admissions in the EU, according to the Lumiere cinema attendance database. The second most popular Romanian film in European cinemas was Tudor Giurgiu's Despre oameni si melci/Of Snails and Men, which has recorded just over 61,000 admissions in the EU.

editor@romanian-insider.com