In a rare but highly positive occurrence all five Nordic countries had local films topping domestic charts last weekend.

Danes and Icelanders cast their vote for the thrillers The Absent One and Brave Men’s Blood, sequels to the local hits The Keeper of Lost Causes and City State. Elsewhere kids movies dominate in Finland (Moomins on the Riviera), Norway (Operation Arctic), and Sweden (Jerry Maja’s Detective Agency 2-Shadows of Velleby).  

In Denmark Mikkel Nørgaard’s The Absent One is already the second biggest Danish film of the year with 545,428 admissions in three weeks. The film dropped only 11% from its previous week. The Nordisk Film/Zentropa release had nearly 57,000 admissions above Nørgaard’s first film in the Department Q series The Keeper of Lost Causes in the same time frame.  The family film Crumbs-All at Stake released by UIP/Regner Grasten stayed at number two with 184,111 admissions in its second weekend. The horror pic Danny’s Doom Day offered by FC/SF dropped slightly in its second weekend from number seven to nine, gathering a total of 21,563 admissions.

In Finland the animation film Moomins on the Riviera added 28,128 admissions for a total count of 93,976 in its second weekend for Nordisk Film. The beloved Tove Jansson characters brought to the screens by Xavier Picard are displayed in 112 Finnish cinemas. Dome Karukoski’s comedy drama The Grump plays as strongly as ever in its seventh week and admissions have passed the symbolic 300,000 cap by over 7,000 cinema-goers. A third Finnish film under Nordisk Film’s colors is adding numbers in its third weekend: the comedy Raspberry Boar Refugee which has sold over 66,000 tickets so far.

In Iceland Olaf de Fleur’s Brave Men’s Blood, a stand-alone sequel to his 2011 hit City State stormed to the top, pushing David Fincher’s Gone Girl to number two. The film about police officer Hannes (Darri Ingolfsson) and his investigations in the narcotic trade is released by Myndform. At number four the Icelandic Granddad released by Samfilm has sold 11,836 tickets in four weeks, slightly more than Paris of the North (11,252 for Sena). 

In Norway the family film Operation Arctic distributed by Nordisk Film went straight to number one in its opening weekend, boosted by overall positive reviews in the Norwegian press. The epic adventure film directed by Grethe Bøe-Waal has sold 55,893 tickets from 170 screens. At number three the other kids adventure movie Captain Sabertooth and the Treasure of Lama Rama continues to thrive. Total tickets sold after four weeks have crossed 308,000 for Walt Disney Company Nordic, making it the third biggest film of the year after Børning (366,898, SF Norge) and Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder (376,221, Nordisk Film).

In Sweden the second instalment in the Jerry Maya’s Detective Agency series -Shadows of Valleby sold 67,441 tickets from 187 venues last weekend, making it the biggest Swedish opener of 2014. The first film in the series had 225,000 admissions in 2013. SF Film is producing and releasing it. 

Nordisk Film’s The Boy with the Golden Pants dropped 38% in its fourth weekend, taking a fifth place at the Top Ten. Total admissions from 96 screens are at 118,212. 

The comedy The Raspberry Boat Refugee also released by Nordisk Film dropped from fourth to sixth place in its second weekend. So far nearly 50,000 people have seen the Finnish/Swedish comedy.

The Swedish documentary Tusen Bitar about the Swedish singer Björn Afzelius is slowly but steadily adding numbers for Triart. The film playing at number 15 has sold nearly 95,000 tickets in seven weeks. 

Sources: FAFID, SMAIS, Filmikamari, Norkse Filmbyråers Forening, Filmägarnas Kontrollbyrå.