Mr. Bjarnfredarson, Jóhannes and Avatar; big at the box office in 2009.
It was the best of times and it was the worst of times… In spite of everything that plagued us, 2009 was a fine year for the Icelandic cinema, wether in terms of films screened, films produced, box office or market share. Three of the top five openings on record occurred this year, and one of those (Mr. Bjarnfredarson) not only had the largest opening for an Icelandic film, it looks like it’s heading for the all-time top seat.
(Note: it is well known that the first Icelandic features, appearing in the early eighties, sold an astronomical number of bums on seats, with 1982′s On Top really delivering on its title, selling north of 120.000 tickets. However, since official record-holding of the Icelandic box office only started in 1995, ICN refers to that year when dealing with box office records).
The year was also good for the exhibition business. Box office holds up with inflation (12%) and admissions are up a very respectable 7%. The year also showed a different trend, with about 16 films crossing the ISK 25m mark instead of the more typical 6-8.
The following report runs charts on the following:
General Data
The general data reveals a slight decrease in the population, probably for the first time since the late sixties, when Iceland went through tough times (albeit not as tough as now). This is partly due to foreign workers returning home, but some Icelanders have also fled the „kreppa“. But the number to watch is the exhange rate. Expect the 2009 GDP to appear here in a few weeks.
| General Data 2009 | 2009 | 2008 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inhabitants* | 317,593 | 319,368 | -0,6% |
| GDP | To be announced | ISK 1,476,463m | N/A |
| Exchange Rate** | 1€ = ISK 173 | 1€ = ISK 127 | 37% |
| *Source: Statistics Iceland **Yearly average. Source: Central Bank of Iceland |
Cinema-going
Cinema going is up 7%, which is fairly good (14% increase 2008), box office is up 12%, which is just about holding up with inflation (coming down rapidly now). Figures also shown in Euros for comparison.
| Cinema-going 2009 | 2009 | 2008 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total box office | ISK 1,418bn (€8,2m) | ISK 1,270bn (€10m) | 12% (-18%) |
| Total admissions | 1,690,310 | 1,578,005 | 7% |
| Average admissions per inhabitant | 5,3 | 4,9 | 7% |
| Number of screens/cinemas | 33/10 | 33/10 | |
| Number of multiplexes | 10 | 10 | |
| Average ticket price | ISK 839 (€4,8) | ISK 810 (€6,4) | 3,6% (-25%) |
Production
Funnily enough, there was an explosion in film production in 2009, which will lead to 2010 being a big year for premieres of Icelandic films, while at the same time production will slow down and many in the business will be out of work. Budgets are down on average and the majority of the films were made with IFC money and deferals only. 2-3 low-budget films were financed by local investors only (including the popular Jóhannes). However, production did start in 2009 on the most expensive Icelandic film ever, the ISK 1.2bn (€7m) Thor (working title), a 3D animation film produced by Caoz, in co-operation with companies from Ireland and Germany. The film, due in 2011, is not included in the budget averages and neither are those films made without IFC support.
| Production 2009 | 2009 | 2008 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feature films produced | 12 | 5 | |
| Co-productions | 4 | 3 | |
| Average production budget | ISK 164m (€0,95m) | ISK 183m (€1,4m) | -10% (-32%) |
| Feature film funding (IFC) | ISK 330m (€1,9m) | ISK 340m (€2,7m) | -2,5% (-30%) |
Distribution
The low-budget comedy Jóhannes, starring beloved comedian Laddi, came in from left-field and with over 36.000 tickets sold, it is the most popular Icelandic film of the year. However, Mr. Bjarnfredarson only opened on December 26th… Avatar also opened just a few days earlier, but is destined to become a huge hit, here as elsewhere.
| Distribution 2009 | 2009 | 2008 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total films released | 207 | 166 | 25% |
| Local films released (Features/feature docs - only first run) | 6/6 | 7/0 | |
| Local films market share | 10,3% | 10,8% | |
| Most successful local film (B.O.) | Jóhannes | White Night Wedding | |
| Most successful international film (B.O.) | Avatar | Mamma Mia |
General Box Office 2009
Avatar (opened Dec. 18th) has the top seat in terms of box office, but The Hangover sold the largest number of tickets. Avatar has already surpassed it in the first days of 2010. Two Icelandic films are in the top ten, Jóhannes at No. 5 and Mr. Bjarnfredarson at No. 9 (has already sailed past Jóhannes in early 2010 and is heading fast for the all-time top seat on record). The Big Rescue is not far, at No. 16. Due to unusually many films crossing the ISK 25m mark, the film would have ended up in a higher place in a more conventional year. Also worth checking is the spectacular success of the first Millenium film, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The follow-up, The Girl Who Played With Fire, came in at No. 12.
| General Box Office 2009 | Distrib. | B.O. (ISK) | Admissions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Avatar* | Sena | 51.521.938 | 44.429 |
| 2. | The Hangover | Samfilm | 51.487.920 | 60.569 |
| 3. | The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo | Sena | 43.614.118 | 51.862 |
| 4. | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Samfilm | 40.871.590 | 48.596 |
| 5. | Jóhannes (ICE) | Myndform | 40.705.210 | 36.417 |
| 6. | Angels & Demons | Sena | 35.571.404 | 39.422 |
| 7. | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | Sena | 34.875.019 | 47.829 |
| 8. | Slumdog Millionaire | Myndform | 32.941.514 | 38.760 |
| 9. | Mr. Bjarnfredarson* | Samfilm | 30.354.900 | 27.115 |
| 10 | 2012 | Sena | 30.252.106 | 33.724 |
| *Still on release. |
Icelandic Films Box Office 2009
2009 has been one of the busiest years of Icelandic cinema, with 6 features released and six feature docus. Fridrik Thór’s docu The Sunshine Boy was the first Icelandic release of the year and quickly set an admission record for docus, only to be surpassed a few weeks later by Thorfinnur Gudnason’s and Andri Snær Magnason’s Dreamland. Later in the year The Big Rescue and Jóhannes took the box office by a storm, and at the year’s end Mr. Bjarnfredarson provided some spectacular fireworks, with the biggest opening of an Icelandic film on record and the biggest opening of any film on record by box office revenue. That show is still going strong.
| Icelandic Films Box Office 2009 | Distrib. | B.O. (ISK) | Admissions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jóhannes | Myndform | 40.705.210 | 36.417 |
| 2. | Mr. Bjarnfredarson* | Samfilm | 30.354.900 | 27.115 |
| 3. | The Big Rescue | Samfilm | 26.392.590 | 32.226 |
| 4. | Dreamland (DOC) | Sena | 14.974.676 | 16.213 |
| 5. | The Sunshine Boy (DOC) | Sena | 12.434.400 | 13.568 |
| 6. | Skoppa and Skrítla** | Sena | 6.437.400 | 8.407 |
| 7. | December | Sena | 5.841.350 | 5.894 |
| 8. | Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre | Samfilm | 5.441.950 | 6.185 |
| 9. | God Bless Iceland (DOC) | Sena | 2.731.874 | 3.604 |
| 10. | Alfred Elíasson and Loftleidir Icelandic (DOC) | Samfilm | 1.831.200 | 2.502 |
| 11. | Our Girls (DOC) | Sena | 1.729.353 | 2.961 |
| 12. | Me and Bobby Fischer (DOC) | Sena | 286.150 | 318 |
| 13. | Mamma Gógó*** | Sena | - | 1.050 |
| Total | 149.161.053 | 156.460 | ||
| *Still on release. | ||||
| **Mini-feature, opened Dec. 08. | ||||
| ***Premiere only, Dec. 30th 2009. |
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