Record Levels of Euro Film Production in ’08

STRASBOURG: The European Audiovisual Observatory reports that the production of feature films in the EU reached record levels last year, with 1,145 titles produced in the 27 member states.

The releases included 878 fiction feature films and 267 feature docs. The data also shows that the number of entirely national fiction films increased from 632 to 675 in 2008, while international fiction co-productions remained fairly stable at 203. Production levels were up in 16 out of the 27 member states, including Italy, Ireland, France and Spain. France remains the country with the highest level of production activity (196 feature films), followed by Germany (151), Spain (150) and Italy (146).

The European Audiovisual Observatory also estimates that European films scored a 28.4-percent market share in the EU. Out of the 24 member states for which data was available, 14 countries registered an increase in national market shares. France led the pack with 45.4-percent share, the highest level since 1984. Germany reached a record share of 26.6 percent. Other countries achieving high national market shares included the Czech Republic (39.6 percent), Denmark (33 percent), the U.K. (31 percent), Italy (29.3 percent), Poland (25.4 percent) and Slovakia (15.6 percent).