The Brazilian theatrical market has registered historic growth this year.
Box office takings in Brazil in the first 6 months of 2002 rose by just under 25%, with movie admissions reflecting this trend, up by 24%. 43 million Brazilians made their way to movie theaters in this period, compared to 34.8 million during the same period in 2001. This uptrend, which looks likely to continue in upcoming months, will enable the country to finally register a rise in its movie attendance figures, which were previously among the lowest in the region.
Within this favorable context, French films have managed to make their mark, attracting close to 1 million spectators in Brazil since the beginning of the year – results not seen since 1997 (for the full year). On top of this, these fine results are essentially credited to French-language films. "Amelie" has clocked up over 300,000 admissions, "Brotherhood of the Wolf," close to 200,000 admissions, "The Closet" has sold 160,000 tickets and "8 Women" looks set to cross the 150,000 spectators mark. It is also worth mentioning the healthy performances of "The Taste of Others" (85,000 admissions) and "The Piano Teacher" (50,000 admissions).
