European Audiovisual Observatory
Press release – Film production booming in Europe – up by 47% – over the last 10 years
New free European co-production report by the European Audiovisual Observatory
- More than 18 000 films were produced in Europe between 2007 and 2016.
- Overall production volume in Europe grew by 47%, from 1 444 feature films in 2007 to 2 124 in 2016.
- Majority European co-productions accounted for 20.4% of the overall production volume in Europe over this period.
- The volume of feature documentary production almost doubled over this period, reaching 698 films in 2016.
- The production of feature fiction also rose significantly, by 33%.
These findings come from a brand new free European co-production report just published by the European Audiovisual Observatory, part of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. The report is entitled: Film production in Europe – Production volume, co-production and worldwide circulation.
I. Top 10 producing countries accounted for 73% of total volume
The top five producing countries – the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy – accounted for 53.6% of overall production in the 36 countries covered in this report. The top 10 producing countries accounted for 73% of the films shot between 2007 and 2016. Only five of the 36 countries covered showed a decline in production between 2007-2008 and 2015-2016 (the UK, Belgium, Norway, Estonia and Hungary).
II. Majority co-productions in Europe – France tops the list with 566 co-productions
In absolute terms, France topped the list, with 566 co-productions from 2007-2016. Only Belgium (56%) and Luxembourg (53%) produced more films as majority co-producer than as fully national producer. In fact, the share of co-production was below European levels in just 13 countries.
III. European countries co-produced with 150 countries; On average 60% of the co-productions were with other European countries
studied (with 105 as majority co-producer and 142 as minority co-producer). However, only 11 European majority co-production countries co-produced with more than 30 countries over this period.
On average, 40% of the films co-produced with other countries as European majority co-productions were with non-European partners, with the US as the most prominent non-European partner for European majority co-productions. In turn, French/Belgian co-productions clearly topped the ranking for the most frequent co-production partnerships, with 207 Franco-Belgian films made between 2010 and 2015. British-American, Italian-French, French-German and Belgian-French productions completed the list of the top five most frequent co-production tie-ups, with the involvement of at least one European partner, over this period.
The average number of co-production partners increased over the period covered; in the EU, it rose from an average 1.48 co-production partners in 2010, to 1.65 in 2015. A total of 27 countries were within a bracket of 1.45-two co-production partners on average, per co-production. The figure rose above two in only four countries.
Our next press release on our European admissions figures for 2017 will be published this coming Thursday !
For further information, please contact: Alison Hindhaugh, Information & Press Officer, Tel.: +33 (0) 3 90 21 60 10
E-mail: alison.hindhaugh@coe.int
Take a tour of our new Yearbook here
The European Audiovisual Observatory
Set up in December 1992, the European Audiovisual Observatory’s mission is to gather and distribute information on the audiovisual industry in Europe. The Observatory is a European public service body comprised of 41 member states and the European Union, represented by the European Commission. It operates within the legal framework of the Council of Europe and works alongside a number of partner and professional organisations from within the industry and with a network of correspondents. In addition to contributions to conferences, other major activities are the publication of a Yearbook, newsletters and reports, the compilation and management of databases and the provision of information through the Observatory’s Internet site (http://www.obs.coe.int).