Anunprecedented 69% increase of admissions for domestic fare in Finland boosted2006 cinema attendance to 6.8m, up 12% from 6.lm the year before, according topreliminary statistics from the Finnish Film Foundation.

SixteenFinnish premieres sold 1.6m tickets (compared with 15 films selling 940,000 ticketsin 2005), controlling 23% of the market (up from 15%). Three local titlesqualifyied for the list of overall top ten films: Aleksi Makela's Matti-Hell Is for Heroes (No 1 with 461,314admissions), Pekka Karjalainen's Jackpot(No 7 with 230,654 admissions) Joona Tena's FCVenus (No 8 with 221,534 - totalling 235,652, with 2005 results).

For thefourth consecutive year Finnish producer Markus Selin's Solar Films hassupplied the local blockbuster of the year. Based on the turbulent life ofFinnish ski-jumping champion Matti Nykanen, Matti-HellIs for Heroes follows Aku Louhimies' Frozen Land, Makela'sVares and Bad Boys at the top spot.

Thebox-office growth was also helped by 164 foreign releases, led by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest(456,278), The Da Vinci Code(364,070), and Casino Royale(344,262).

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