Russian box office sets new record in 2011

The Russian and the CIS box office (except Ukraine) set a new record in 2011, reaching $1.155 billion, which is 11.74% higher, over the previous year, when it estimated at $1.057 billion, according to Russia’s Film Business Today.

Central Partnership was the largest distributor in 2011 (as it had been in 2010), with box office totaling $294.7 million for a market share of 25.52%. In second place was Walt Disney Studios Sony Pictures Releasing (WDSSPR), which is a joint venture of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International and Sony Pictures Releasing International), which earned $281.53 million, with the market share more than 24.37%.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (released by WDSSPR) was the highest-grossing film of the year at $63.7 million. Puss in Boots and Transformers 3: On the Dark Side of the Moon were the second and the third highest grossing films with $47.3 million and $45.2 million, respectively. At the same time Pirates of the Caribbean set a new record in terms of the number of released screens of 1,716.

Total number of films released in 2011 fell to 306, compared with 338 the previous year. Attendance has grown only by 0.02%, while in 2010 the growth was almost 20%.

The share of domestic films in total box office fell to 12.6% compared with 14.5% a year earlier.

In 2010, the increase in the Russian film market was much more dramatic at 43.6%.