Despite Germany's hosting ofthe World Cup and sweltering temperatures from late May, German cinemas havereported marked increases in box-office takings and admissions for the firsthalf of 2006 over the same period last year, according to figures collated bythe German Federal Film Board (
The
The figures for the firstthree months had been lower than for the same period in 2005, but this changeddramatically in April and May with a number of strong releases. Thanks, inparticular, to the
Altogether, there was a12.2% year-on-year increase in box-office takings to the end of May, but theWorld Cup and the heatwave in June saw business atthe cinemas drop 16.3% compared to June 2005 - consequently leading to theoverall single digit increases for the half-year.
Meanwhile, German films aregoing from strength to strength on the nation's screens: the 12.8m tickets soldand 19.9% domestic market share were the highest levels reached halfway throughthe year by local fare since 1997. Three local films were seen by more 1mcinema-goers each: The Wild Soccer Gang(2.1m), The Lives OfOthers (1.3m) and Wild Chicks(1.1m) - and other box-office successes included The Robber Hotzenplotz, Felix 2, Into GreatSilence, and The ElementaryParticles.
The German films' marketshare could even surpass 20% by the end of 2006 since a number of potentiallocal box-office hits will be released in the coming weeks, including Tom Tykwer's much anticipated Perfume - The Story Of A Murderer, the 7 Dwarfs sequel 7 Zwerge - Der WaldIst Nicht Genug, the animation feature Oh, Wie Schoen IstPanama, and the Til Schweigerdrama Wo Ist Fred'
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