Three local titles took the top of the chart, under the reign of Christoffer Boe’s The Purity of Vengeance. The fourth and final instalment in Zentropa’s successful Department Q crime series made history as the biggest Danish film ever, with DKK 76M gross from 765,111 tickets sold. 

The thriller was among five local films that passed 300,000 admissions (against one in 2017) with The Way to Mandalay by Ole Bornedal, A Fortunate Man by Bille August, and the Christmas-related films That Time of Year by Patrika Steen and the animation film Checkered Ninja by Anders Matthesen, both still on national release.

Other innovative local films by debut directors found their audience: A Horrible Woman by Christian Tafdrup (156,230 admissions) and The Guilty by Gustav Möller (140,674).

Total admissions for Danish films reached 3.8 million, up 34.2% from 2017, while total attendance increased by 4.6% to 13 million, according to preliminary figures form the Danish Film Institute.

Danish films achieved the 29% market share set as a benchmark by the Danish government in its Film Agreement 2019-2023, a drastic improvement from the 20% market share of 2017.

Claus Ladegaard, CEO at the Danish Film Institute said: “In a country like Denmark with a relatively small feature film production, the box office will inevitably vary from one year to the next. In 2016 and 2017, admissions for Danish films were lower than what we could have wished for. Last year, on the other hand, Danish cinema reached a national market share of 29%. Quite a few films became box-office hits, and 2018 was also a year where new talents made their names known with bold and accomplished low-budget films. Also, some clever female-driven comedies were well-received in 2018."

The top grossing foreign film of 2018 was the Disney animated The Incredibles 2, followed by the superhero film Avengers: Infinity War.

Musical films that performed well were the Queen celebration Bohemian Rhapsody and the Abba-centric Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again.

US films dropped slightly by 2% year on year to 58% of the market, while European films lost even more ground, with 11% of the market against 17% the previous year.

Norwegian films triumphed, securing four of the top five positions among Nordic non-Danish films: 

Top Nordic films

  • Utøya, July 22 (NO) 42,864 admissions, Nordisk Film 
  • The Border (SE), 30,503 admissions, Camera Film 
  • The Ash Lad: In the Hall of the Mountain King (NO), 18,369, Nordisk Film 
  • The 12th Man (NO), 13,743, Nordisk Film 
  • What Will People Say (NO), 3,845, Øst for Paradis

Two bio-docs were the most popular at home: Torben Skødt Jensen’s Armed with Words and Wings featuring Danish poet Michael Strunge (8,994 admissions, Another World Entertainment), and Møllehave - hellere forrykt end forgæves by Peter Klitgaard about influential writer and lecturer Johannes Møllehave (4,029, Camera Film).

FOR DENMARK 2018 ANNUAL ADMISSIONS CHARTS: Denmark 2018 Annual Admissions Charts