AUDIOVISUAL: CINEMA ATTENDANCE STAGNANT STILL IN EUROPE.

The market share of US cinema, and its champion "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", with almost 40 million tickets sold, totals 71.2% compared with 65.4% in 2001. "Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatre" is in ninth place with almost 20 million tickets sold. The Observatory reveals that European films do well on their own territories (19.5% of the market on average) but that they find it hard to cross borders, whilst American films occupy the top eight box-office places. Within this perspective, the British film market is "one of the most dynamic", the European Observatory says, with an increase in attendance of 13% at 176 million tickets sold, making it the biggest market in the EU after France (185.1 million), ahead of Germany (163.9 million), Spain (140.7 million) and Italy (112 million).

The countries in which production has increased are Austria (26 films in 2002 compared with 12 in 2001), Spain (80, compared with 67), and Italy (96, compared with 68). On the other hand, production is noticeably down in Portugal (6 films compared with 14 in 2001). The Observatory notes that British, French and Spanish producers have shown a renewed interest in co-productions. Film budgets are highest in the UK, at an average of nearly Euro 10 million compared to Euro 4.4 million in France. Six American productions have been made at British studios, compared with three in 2001 and eleven in 2000, the Observatory says.

With regard to attendance, Finland has the highest growth rate (+18.5%), whilst the most significant falls were in Germany (-7.9%) and in Spain (-4%). Amongst non-EU countries, Estonia saw an even higher increase (+19.5%), whilst Lithuania saw attendances fall by 19% and Turkey by around 24%, due mainly, it seems, to the lack of strong national films.

Results from Europa Cinemas network.

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