eOne has strong year in UK and Canada

Entertainment One had a stellar 2010 at the box office, especially in the UK and Canada, the independent Toronto-based company announced yesterday.

Top box office performers in the UK and Canada were The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, RED, Letters to Juliet and Remember Me, an eOne spokesperson told Screen, adding that the combined Eclipse DVD/Blu-ray sales, in the UK and Canada hit “1.4 million copies in its first week and the total sales in the UK represented the fourth biggest week one title result of 2010.”

In the UK, eOne’s total box office increased to £60.1 million (up from £53.1 million in 2009), giving it a solid market share of 5.5%.

In Canada, eOne’s box office revenues rose to $C62.8 million from $C56.8 million in 2009, giving it a 6.2% share of the total Canadian market. 

And although figures didn’t rise in Benelux, business remained strong as eOne maintained a 5.5% market share on box office revenues of €12.0M in 2010. 

“In 2010, we continued to leverage eOne’s unique model to acquire premium independent content and reinforce our position as a leading independent film distributor across our core markets,” said Patrice Theroux, President, Filmed Entertainment, in a statement.

eOne’s reach also includes the U.S., Ireland, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, although the company did not provide details of box office performance in these territories at this time.