When plans were made for the cinema year 2009, no one could foresee that it would be an extraordinary year. No one could  anticipate the magnitude of the 2009 mega-hits – the Millennium trilogy and the Michael Jackson film This Is It. So Nordisk Film Biografer forecast a market recession, a drop from the previous record of 13.3 million box office sales for the total Danish market in 2008, to a more average 12.5 million tickets.

“When we made our plans, only the first of the Millennium trilogy – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – was scheduled for cinema release, while the other two were to be produced as a TV series. So we estimated that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo would sell 400,000 tickets in Denmark. Instead it sold a million!” explains John Tønnes.

The Michael Jackson film, This Is It, was not released until after Michael Jackson’s death at the end of June 2009, when it suddenly gained cult status. At the end of 2009 the message was clear: Nordisk Film Biografer had made an amazing year, selling more than 6 million tickets.

Competition keeps you on your toes
A combination of several factors contributed to Nordisk Film Biografer’s success in 2009. Good film titles were released throughout the year, among them some extraordinarily strong films, and the cinema market as a whole has been boosted in recent years.

“Nordisk Film Biografer has invested in equipment and cinema interior design, as have our competitors, so there are no longer any inferior cinemas in Denmark. We are facing keen competition from the other big cinema chain, Cinemaxx. But the fierce competition sharpens our skills and helps to strengthen the market,” says John Tønnes.

One of Nordisk Film Biografer’s major investments in the past year was the transformation of nine cinema theatres into 3D cinemas. This costly affair seemingly failed to attract larger audiences – until James Cameron’s epic Avatar took the  cinemas by storm.

“Until Christmas, the 3D technology had only persuaded a few sporadic guests to buy tickets for the 3D, rather than the 2D versions, but it had not actually generated new 3D cinema viewers. Then Avatar opened, and everything changed. To date, Avatar has sold more than 700,000 tickets, primarily because it is in 3D and is visually stunning and innovative in its field,” John Tønnes explains.

Progress in times of crisis
“We haven’t been able to pinpoint, why more people are going to the cinema, but I believe, some of those forced to cut spending on expensive consumer goods, have come down to a more modest level – which includes cinema visits,” says John Tønnes, who also predicts that the upcoming film year will be filled with new initiatives:

“We probably won’t record figures like in 2009, but we are already ahead of budget, thanks to Avatar. In 2010 we expect to double the number of cinema theatres with 3D technology, and are intensely negotiating with distributors about cinema theatre digitalisation, which we expect to implement in 2011-2012,” concludes John Tønnes.