21.9 million Kinepolis tickets in 2008

Last year Kinepolis Group welcomed 21.9 million visitors to its cinema complexes internationally, barely 0.8% less than the visitor figure for 2007 (22.0 million).   Quarter 4 2008   Thanks to blockbusters such as 'Quantum of Solace', 'Madagascar 2', 'Loft' (Belgium) and the French Mesrine-diptiek (France), growth of 8.3% was recorded in the fourth quarter compared with the same period in 2007.   The year 2008   Kinepolis recorded a strong annual figure bearing in mind the economic situation and the postponement of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince until 2009.  The substantial proportion of local successes among the top films is striking: the French film 'Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis' attracted a total of 1 000 000 visitors, and 'Astérix aux Jeux Olympiques' also brought crowds flocking to the cinema. The Flemish productions 'Loft' and 'Aanrijding in Moscou' broke national and regional records respectively in Belgium.   The year 2009   This promises to be a fascinating year for films, with major releases such as 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' and 'Ice Age 3'.  This year will also see the breakthrough of 3D-films, including 'Bolt', 'Ice Age 3', 'Avatar' and 'Up'.   Local films everywhere are steadily becoming increasingly important, including the full-length film 'FC De Kampioenen', and 'Dossier K' (the successor to 'De Zaak Alzheimer') in Flanders, 'De l'autre côté du lit', 'Le code a changé' and 'Coco' in France and French-speaking Belgium and 'Los abrazos rotos', 'Agora' and 'REC 2' in Spain.   The successful 'Opera in de Cinema' which has so far brought over 7000 opera lovers to the cinema, is to be continued in Belgium and France in 2009. Kinepolis Spain also organised an opera taster recently in the form of the live performance of 'Don Carlo' from Teatro alla Scalla (Milan).   Kinepolis will be setting up a range of new event-based initiatives this year in the areas of sport, music, TV series and documentaries.