Dutch films fail to pull in the punters this year

theatre chairs2016 has not been a good year for the Dutch film industry, the Volkskrant reported on Thursday.

Recent industry figures indicate that the Dutch share of the total market is at an all-time low, with Dutch-made films representing only 10% of cinema revenue. This is down 50% on previous years.

The year has been marked by a number of resounding flops, such as Prooi by Dick Maas and De Held by Menno Meyjes which only attracted 31,000 and 21,000 visitors respectively, the paper says.

December, traditionally popular for cinema going, is not included in the figures and may still bolster a disappointing average.

This Thursday sees the release of Soof 2 which has already attracted 75,000 visitors in one evening. The first part of the romantic comedy pulled in some 800,000 visitors in 2013.

But according to Vue cinema chain director Ron Sterk, the film’s success won’t change what appears to be a decline in Dutch film making. ‘We need a healthy national film production especially since overall revenue, including from foreign films, has grown by 6%. That is also down to new cinemas but it does mean something,’ the Volkskrant quotes him as saying.

The most popular Dutch films of 2016 so far in visitor numbers:

Rokjesdag – 400.000
Woezel & Pip – 225.000
Knielen op een bed violen – 223.000
Hartenstrijd – 172.000
Club van Sinter-klaas & geblaf op de pakjesboot – 172.000
Hart Beat – 138.000
Tonio – 128.000
Meester Kikker – 116.000
Familieweekend – 101.000
Meesterspion – 100.000

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