Russia and CIS (excluding Ukraine) reached a historical high of $1.05bn in 2010.

The Russian and CIS box office (except Ukraine) reached a historical high of $1.05 billion in 2010, which is 43% up on 2009. At the same time the share of Russian movies declined from 23.9% in 2009 to 14.9% in 2010.

According to Rentrak, a significant increase of national box office has allowed Russia to become the world’s sixth-largest film distribution market and to overtake the markets of such countries as Australia, Italy, South Korea and Spain.

The highest-grossing film in 2010 was Avatar, with the total box office in Russia and CIS reaching $117.05m mainly thanks to 3D and IMAX releases. The second place was occupied by Shrek Forever After ($51.36m) and Alice in Wonderland ($42.13m).

Local comedy Our Russia:The Eggs of Fortune became the highest-grossing Russian film, ranking eighth in the list on $22.2 million.

In addition to attendance, the average ticket price in 2010 also increased. If in 2009 about 138.6m tickets were sold in Russia, in 2010 these figures increased up to 162.07 million, with the average ticket price from $5.31 to $6.37, mainly due to the ever increasing number of 3D releases.

Despite such successful results most of the Russian analysts forecasted that the final box office tally would reach at least $1.15 billion. But revenues slipped a bit in the second half of the year.

In comparison, in 2009 total box office in Russia and CIS was only $735.9m, which is significantly less than in 2008 – $831.6m.

Russia’s Top 10 films of 2010

1. Avatar - $117.05m

2. Shrek Forever After - $51.4m

3. Alice in Wonderland - $42.13m

4. TheTwilight Saga: Eclipse - $26.3m

5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I - $25.3m

6. Clash of The Titans - $24.9m

7. How to Train Your Dragon - $23.5m

8. Our Russia:The Eggs of Fortune - $22.2m

9. Megamind - $22.1m

10. Tangled - $21.9m

Source: Russian Film Business Today

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