Scandinavian boxoffice improves this year

"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"

COLOGNE, Germany — Local hits “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” and “Max Manus” kept the boxoffice sunny in Scandinavia in the first half of 2009.

Ticket sales in Sweden jumped 26.8% to 7.6 million, the highest first-half tally level in five years, thanks to the mega-success of Niels Arden Oplev’s “Dragon Tattoo.” The adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s best-selling thriller has so far sold some 1.2 million tickets in Sweden, earning upwards of $15 million. That success helped boost the share of local films in the territory to more than 32% in the first half compared with about 18% over the same period in 2008.

In Norway, admissions were up 8% to 5.6 million in the first half. World War II epic “Max Manus,” about a legendary Norwegian saboteur, has been the hometown hero, helping local films earn a 26.5% share of the market, compared with just 10% in the first half of 2008. “Max Manus,” which topped the charts in Oslo for months, has earned more than $15 million in its home territory.

By Scott Roxborough/ Hollywoodreporter.com