Publications | Film Industry Reports
FILM INDUSTRY REPORT 2011, F+F 10 SUMMARY
The comprehensive data compilation is available online: http://www.filmwirtschaftsbericht.at
THE FILM INDUSTRY
The film industry comprises the areas of film production (commissioned and independent productions), cinemas, post-production and miscellaneous film technology, film distribution and video rental. Due to the cooperation with "Statistik Austria" and their performance and structure statistics detailed information for 2008 and 2009 can be provided.
In 2009 the film industry generated a production value of 697 million euros: 46.8% in the field of production of cinema and TV-films, approx. 10.9% in the area of film distribution. The cinema sector contributes approx. 24.4% to the total turnover of the audiovisual industry. 2,180 companies employed 6,880 people.
DISTRIBUTION CHAIN
Cinema structure. 299 out of 584 screens were digital which is a high standard on an international level.
Box office. With more than 16,4 million admissions (source: Rentrak) the level is lower than 2009 (-9%).
Distribution. With the exception of Constantin Film, the five largest distribution companies in terms of their turnover are subsidiaries of US majors. These six companies represent a market share of more than 83%.
Austrian films in cinemas. The market share of Austrian films reached 5.1%. The most successful Austrian production in 2010 with ticket sales of 195,427 (217,191 cinema-goers altogether) was the comedy "The Unintentional Kidnapping of Elfriede Ott".
Film releases. 310 new films were released in 2010, 37 of those were Austrian movies, 1119 were of US-origin and 45 were from Germany.
FILM AWARDS
With "The White Ribbon" by director Michael Haneke, Wega Film, for the third time Austria was nominated for the "Oscar" in the category "Foreign Language Film". Austrian commercials won "Gold" and "Silver" in Portorož, "Styria - The Green Heart of Austria" is winner of the Grand Prix CIFFT 2010.
FILM FUNDING AND FINANCING
Austrian national film funding rests on four pillars: while the Austrian Film Institute is responsible for cinema-film funding based on economic and cultural aspects, television film is supported by the FERNSEHFONDS AUSTRIA; The Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts & Culture supports the artistic-innovative film. In 2010 the Film Location Austria (FISA), an initiative by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Economy, Family and Youth got into force.
State funding measures are complemented by financial support from the Austrian public-service broadcasting provider which is laid down in the Film/TV Agreement concluded between the Austrian Film Institute and the ORF, the Austrian Broadcasting Service.
Regional film funding. Most of Austria’s federal states have film funding schemes focusing on the support of productions with a regional cultural link and a positive business impact on the region. These schemes may be organized as separate institutions, such as the Vienna Film Fund (Filmfonds Wien) and/or as units within the cultural department of the local governments.
Disbursement of funds. The actual disbursements of the 19 funding institutions amounted to 69.6 million euros in 2010. As with funding commitments, the largest sums were paid out by the Austrian Film Institute, Vienna Film Fund, FERNSEHFONDS AUSTRIA and the Film/TV Agreement. The disbursements of the national film funding institutions amounted to approx. 45 million euros, the disbursements of the regional film funding institutions amounted to 35.9% or 25 million euros.
FILM FUNDING EUROPE
MEDIA Measures to Encourage the Development of the Audiovisual Industry
The funding focus of MEDIA, the funding program of the European Union for promoting the audiovisual industry in Europe, lies on development, promotion, sales, training and pilot projects.
In 2010, Austria received 2.4 million euros from the MEDIA program, most of which went to distribution support. An additional 719,210 euros were granted to support the distribution of four Austrian films in 23 countries.
EURIMAGES European Co-production Fund
In 2010, the Austrian membership dues amounted to 464,401 euros representing 2.18% of the overall contributions of the member states. Four productions with Austrian participation received an amount of 790.000 euros, 89,500 euros were granted for the distribution of Austrian films and Austrian distributors.
THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT
In 2010, the European film again reached a low market share with 25.3%. The top-ranking films in Europe were "Avatar", "Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows: Part 1" (the seventh sequel of the Harry Potter film series) and "Toy Story 3". The number of films from the European Union (including documentaries) grew to a new record of 1,203 in 2010.
