Record number of European cinema visits 2019

The European Cinema Owners' Association has produced preliminary figures showing an increase in cinema visits by 4.5 per cent throughout Europe. The association also notes that revenues increased by SEK 5 billion compared to 2018 and landed at close to SEK 90 billion.

In Sweden, the total number of cinema visits fell by 3 percent.

Domestic film accounts for a large part of cinema visits in Europe. The strongest interest in film from one's own country is that of Turkey, where domestic film accounts for over half of the cinema visits. The strongest in the EU is France with a 35% share of the domestic film. In Sweden, the figure is only 13 percent.

"It is the lowest figure for domestic film in Sweden in 25 years," says Peter Fornstam, chairman of the Swedish Cinema Owners' Association.

But from a European perspective, 2019 was a fantastic bio year, says Peter Fornstam.

"The countries that perform best also have a broad and strong domestic film production, which shows how important these films are for cinema visits," says Peter Fornstam, chairman of the Swedish Cinema Owners' Association in a statement.