Despite overall declining cinema attendance, Finland and Norway had excellent results for their domestic films and each territory had five local productions in their Top 10.
Finland: The Grump smiles at the Top
Thirty two Finnish films had their domestic premiere in 2014 and ended up controlling 27% of the market with more than two million tickets sold. This was the third best result for local titles since Finnish cinema statistics started in 1970. Dome Karukoski’s The Grump was by far the biggest hit of 2014 (454,000 admissions) ahead of the US tentpole The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (323,000 admissions).
All in all, a wide range of Finnish films made an impact on the Top 10 chart. Eight of them sold more than 100,000 tickets and five were among the seven best-selling titles of the year: The Grump, Ricky Rapper and the Slick Leonard, Kummeli V-Towards the Day of Doom, Jill & Joy and Moomins on the Riviera.
The most popular Finnish documentary of the year (among 12 new releases) was the award-winning Garden Lovers by Virpi Suutari with 15,000 admissions.
General admissions were around 7.5 million, slightly lower than the previous year (7.7 million).
TOP TEN FINNISH FILMS 2014 (source Finnish Film Foundation/Filmikamari)
FILMS |
ADMISSIONS |
DISTRIBUTORS |
The Grump |
453.839 |
Nordisk Film |
Rickey Rapper and Slick Leonard |
265.907 |
Walt Disney |
Kummeli V-Towards the Day of Doom |
178.353 |
Nordisk Film |
Jill & Joy |
177.109 |
Nordisk Film |
Moomins on the Riviera |
173.347 |
Nordisk Film |
Summertime |
129.163 |
Nordisk Film |
No Thank You |
126.991 |
SF Film |
Raspberry Boat Refugee |
109.709 |
Nordisk Film |
The Two and Only |
90.535 |
Nordisk Film |
Ella & Friends 2 |
69.622 |
Snapper Films |
Norway: Second best year since 1975 for local films
Thanks to Norwegian children and youth films that were the most popular genre among 34 new local releases, admissions for local fare crossed 2.7 million (up 0.6% from 2013), representing a 24.4% market share, the second best since 1975 according to Film & Kino.
Five Norwegian films - all targeting kids and youth - shared the domestic Top 10 with US blockbusters. The Norwegian flag was hoisted at the top of the charts first with Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder, then with Børning, until Hobbit the Battle of the Five Armies replaced it.
Three documentaries premiered in cinemas last year and all had satisfying results. Solveig Melkeraaen’s Good Girl was the best-selling title (22,928 admissions), followed by Fridtjof Kjæreng’s Priest of Burden (17,892 admissions) and Bear Island (10,829 admissions). “These strong numbers show that Norwegian cinemagoers want strong stories that engage on a political level,” said Stine Helgeland from the Norwegian Film Institute.
Two Norwegian films in the Top 10 were produced by Filmkameratene (Børning and Operation Arctic) and another two, produced by Cinenord Kidstory AS were based on popular children’s books.
Despite Norwegians’ appetite for local fare, general admissions dropped by 6.1% in 2014 to 11 million.
TOP TEN NORWEGIAN FILMS 2014 (source Film & Kino)
FILMS |
ADMISSIONS |
DISTRIBUTORS |
Børning |
381.648 |
SF Norge |
Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder |
377.820 |
Nordisk Film |
Captain Sabertooth and the Lama Rama Treasure |
365.902 |
Walt Disney Nordic |
Casper and Emma ‘s Christmas |
321.789 |
SF Norge |
Operation Arctic |
258.623 |
Nordisk Film |
Casper and Emma’s Winter Vacation |
211.846 |
SF Norge |
Kick It |
108.062 |
SF Norge |
Dead Snow: Red vs Dead |
76.097 |
Nordisk Film |
Beatles |
71.521 |
SF Norge |
One Night in Oslo |
66.109 |
Nordisk Film |