Vicky The Viking

For German cinema-owners, 2009 was one of the most successful years ever thanks to 3D which boosed the theatrical performance of already big releases such as Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs and Up.

The last two weeks of December then saw Avatar attract more than 3.9 million cinema-goers, of which 2.5 million were the (more expensive) 3D screenings.

Overall, admissions were up 16% on 2008, while box office revenue increased year on year by more than 25%. Local productions posted a record year with a market share of 25.5%, with Vicky The Viking and Rabbit Without Ears 2 ranking among the highest-grossing films of the year.

X Verleih’s The White Ribbon became a permanent fixture in the cinemas from its release in October well into 2010. Released on 80 prints, word of mouth and international prizes helped propel the release ito $4.3m (€3.2m), making it Michael Haneke’s most successful release in Germany.

Germany: Top 5 Films 2009
Title (origin)DistributorGross
Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs US)20th Fox$76.7m
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (US-UK)Warner Bros$60.4m
Avatar (US)20th Fox$51.1m*
Angels & Demons (US)SPRI$46.3m
Vicky The Viking (Ger)Constantin$38.3m

*Until Dec 31, 2009. Still on release. Source: Rentrak EDI

Germany: Top 5 Local Films 2009
Title (origin)DistributorGross
Vicky The Viking (Ger)Constantin$38.3m
Rabbit Without Ears 2 (Ger)Warner Bros$33.7m*
Pope Joan (UK-Ger-It-Sp)Constantin$23.6m
Men In The City (Ger)Warner Bros$19.2m
Mannersache (Ger)Constantin$16.7m

*Until Dec 31. Still on release

Germany: Top 10 DVD Sell-Through 2009
TitleDistributor
Harry Potter And The Half Blood PrinceWarner Home Video
TwilightConcorde
Ice Age: Dawn Of The DinosaursFox
Rabbit Without EarsWarner Home Video
Quantum Of SolaceFox
Angels & DemonsSony Pictures
The Dark KnightWarner Home Video
AustraliaFox
Mamma Mia! The MovieUniversal Pictures
Madagascar 2Paramount Pictures

Source: Videomarkt

Germany: Foreign Releases 2009
Title (origin)DistributorGross
Slumdog Millionaire (UK)Prokino$18.7m
Welcome To The Sticks (Fr)Prokino$9m
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Swe-Den-Ger)NFP$7.1m
Niko & The Way To The Stars (Fin)Universum$5m
Coco Before Chanel (Fr)Warner Bros$4.5m
Recep Ivedik 2 (Tur)Kinostar$3.9m
Broken Embraces (Sp)Tobis $2m
The Boat That Rocked (US-UK-Fr)UPI$1.9m
Arthur And The Revenge Of The Maltzard (Fr)Tobis $1.6m
Der Knochenmann (Aust)Majestic$1.3m

Source: Rentrack EDI