29-04-2022

Admissions to Domestic Films in North Macedonia Declined Significantly in 2021

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    Admissions to Domestic Films in North Macedonia Declined Significantly in 2021 credit: Kino Milenium Skopje

    SKOPJE: Admissions to domestic films in North Macedonia declined drastically from 24,138 in 2020 to 2,652 in 2021, even though almost the same number of films were released in cinemas, 23 in 2020 and 21 in 2021.

    General admissions increased by 18% in 2021, reaching 141,767 in comparison to 120,735 in 2020, though cinema admissions are still well below pre-pandemic levels.

    Gross box office increased from 387,897 EUR / 23.8 m MKD in 2020 to 453,978 EUR / 27.9 m MKD in 2021, but it was far from the pre-pandemic year 2019, when films cashed in 1.5 m EUR / 91.8 m MKD.

    A total of 275 films were screened in Macedonian cinemas in 2021. The domestic film with the most admissions in 2021 was Sisterhood / Sestri by Dina Duma, produced and distributed by List credit: Cinemateque of North MacedoniaProduction, with 444 admissions, quite far from the most watched Macedonian film in the last five years Honeyland / Medena zemja by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov, produced and distributed by Tris Films, which had 20,811 admissions in 2020, and Willow / Vrba by Milcho Manchevski, produced and distributed by Banana Film, which had 16,669 admissions in 2019.

    In 2021 the general admissions Top 10 was topped by No Time to Die, distributed by Premium Film, with 15,569 admissions, followed by two Serbian films: the biopic Toma, produced by Cobra Film and Minacord Production, and distributed by Konstantin Film MKD, with 14,529 admissions, and South Wind 2 / Južnivetar 2, produced by Režim and Archangel Studios, and distributed by Blitz Film and Video Distribution, with 12,379 admissions.

    Cineplexx cinema group announced in 2021 that it will open the second multiplex in North Macedonia with eight cinema halls. The construction of the 5m EUR investment cinema started on 15 July 2021 and is expected to finish in 2022.