Brazil's box office sales totaled $154.4m (Brazilian Real 340.8m) in the first six months of 2006, registering a 12.1% increase over the same period last year, according to figures released by Filme B, a local film company that reviews theatrical market numbers. The average ticket price reached $3.51 (BRL 7.73), up 6% from the same period.

The country's total attendance increased by 6% as a result of 44.1m tickets sold. Local productions admissions were up 58% in relation to January-June 2005. But this percentage will probably fall in the coming months because Two Sons of Francisco, the most successful Brazilian film of last year, was released in August 2005.

With a total of 31 titles released - 13 more than last year - Brazilian films were seen by 5.7m people, representing a market share at 13%. The local champ was Fox's Se Eu Fosse Voce (If I Were You), a romantic comedy that sold 3.6m tickets and took the third spot in 2006 first half ranking.

Fox enjoyed the largest market share in Brazil, with 37.6%, reaching a total of 17.4m admissions. Besides Se Eu Fosse Voce, the distributor released four of the ten most successful films of the period, including the number one, Ice Age: The Meltdown, with 5.8m tickets, X-Men: The Last Stand, placed fourth, with 3m admissions, and The Pink Panther, ranked ninth, with 1.1m admissions.

Sony Pictures took the second spot with 7.4m admissions and a market share of 16.2%, most of which was derived from the blockbuster The Da Vinci Code. It was the second-highest-grossing film of the season, with 4.4m tickets sold. UIP came third, with 6.2 admissions and 13.4% of the market share, thanks to films such as Mission: Impossible III, with 1.9m tickets, and King Kong, with 1.8m.

Solid performance by certain key films released in the first six months of the year helped national attendance and contributed to an increase in revenues. The lack of successful films dragged the market down in 2005, when the country's total sales dropped from $347.6m (BRL 765.5m) in 2004 to $314.1m (BRL 691.7m).

Brazil Top 10 - first half 2006 (in admissions)
1)Ice Age: The Meltdown (Fox) - 5.8m
2)The Da Vinci Code (Sony) - 4.4m
3)Se Eu Fosse Voce (Fox) - 3.6m
4)X-Men: The Last Stand (Fox) - 3m
5)The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe (BVI) - 2.7m
6)Mission: Impossible III (UIP) - 1.9m
7)King Kong (UIP) - 1.8m
8)Fun With Dick And Jane (Sony)- 1.14m
9)The Pink Panther (Fox) - 1.1m
10) The Exorcism Of Emily Rose (Sony) - 1m