12/01/2015 - Norwegian titles including Børning dominated the box-office statistics from early April until The Hobbit arrived on 10 December

Last year, five Norwegian chartbusters contributed to the sales of 2.7 million cinema tickets for local fare; they went on to control 24.4% of the market, 0.6% better than last year and close to the 2011 record of 24.5%. Total attendance in 2014 dropped 6.1% from 2013, reaching 11.1 million, according to statistics published by Norwegian cinema association Film & Kino. 

For the first time, Norwegian titles were number one in the box-office charts from early April until the 10 December release of New Zealand director Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, which also became the year’s top grosser. Also for the first time, during the whole year at least one Norwegian feature stayed among the top four on the hit list.

Six of the year’s top ten films were aimed at children and younger audiences, including four Norwegian productions: Arild Frøhlich’s Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Lisa Marie Gamlem and John Andreas Andersen’s Captain Sabertooth and the Treasure of Lama Rama, Arne Lindtner Næss’ Casper & Emma's Christmas [+see also:
trailer
film profile], and Grethe Bøe-Waal’s Operation Arctic.

The best domestic performer, Hallvard Bræin’s Børning [+see also:
trailer
film profile], was the first Norwegian effort in the Cannonball Run vein. Starring Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Sven Nordin, Jenny Skavlan and Henrik Mestad in a car race that takes place from Oslo to the North Cape, Børning was launched on 13 August 2014, taking more than twice the admissions of the nine other films in the top ten upon its release. Veteran Norwegian producer John M Jacobsen will shoot a sequel next winter. 

Norway: The top ten films of 2014

1 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (US), dir: Peter Jackson. 482,975 admissions
2 Børning [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Norway), dir: Hallvard Bræin, prod: Filmkameratene. 381,648 adms
3 Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder (Norway), dir: Arild Frøhlich, prod: Maipo Film. 377,778 adms
4 Captain Sabertooth and the Treasure of Lama Rama (Norway), dirs: Lisa Marie Gamlem and John Andreas Andersen, prod: Storm Films. 365,902 adms
5 Casper & Emma's Christmas (Norway), dir: Arne Lindtner Næss, prod: Cinenord Kidstory. 321,789 adms
6 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (US), dir: Francis Lawrence. 318,273 adms
7 Frozen (US), dirs: Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee. 291,231 adms
8 How to Train Your Dragon 2 (US), dir: Dean DeBlois. 262,936 adms
9 Operation Arctic (Norway), dir: Grethe Bøe-Waal, prod: Filmkameratene. 258,623 adms
10 The Wolf of Wall Street (US), dir: Martin Scorsese. 225,681 adms