02/12/2015 - With a repertoire of six to seven new films annually – and a 50% reduction on cinema tickets – the new club will open after two years of preparations

The Last King by Nils Gaup will be the first film to be included in the Cinema Club Norway scheme

Following two years of preparations, Norway’s Filmweb is ready to launch Cinema Club Norway, which – with a repertoire of six to seven new films annually, and a 50% reduction on the price of cinema tickets – is intended to seek out faithful audiences for the theatres.

Modelled on Cinema Club Denmark, which has been in operation for 20 years and now has approximately 200,000 members, who buy one million tickets annually, the Norwegian equivalent will open with the local premiere of Nils Gaup’s historical epic The Last King [+see also:
trailer
interview: Nils Gaup
film profile].

“We know from Denmark that membership of the club is the only reason why Danes go to watch films more frequently – if they leave it, their cinema attendance is drastically reduced,” explained the managing director of Cinema Club Norway, Elisabeth Brinch.

According to an analysis carried out by Norwegian cinema association Film & Kino, 80% of respondents said they go to the theatres often or every now and then, if there is a film they want to see; but 84% admitted that they don’t go often or every now and then, even if there is a title they want to watch. 

In the spring, cardholders, who pay a €16 membership fee, will also get half-price tickets for US director Todd Haynes’ Carol [+see also:
trailer
film profile], starring Cate Blanchett, Norwegian director Arild Fröhlich’s comedy Grand Hotel [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Spanish filmmaker Fernando León de Aranoa’s A Perfect Day [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fernando León de Aranoa
film profile].

The movies are selected by a committee including programme director Christin Berg, of Norway’s largest cinema chain, Nordisk Film Kino, who added: “A cinema club has been on the top of my wish list for a long time, so I am excited to find out how it will be received.”

Owned by the Norwegian film industry and Danish media concern Egmont, Filmweb is Norway’s leading film and cinema portal, used by more than 100 organisations. It is also an online platform for the booking and sale of theatre tickets, and registers around two million monthly users.