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10 years of Cartoon Movie
Increased growth of European animation films

On its tenth anniversary, Cartoon Movie seems to have achieved the right formula. Whereas putting together production financing generally takes between two and five years to be completed, backing for about 1/3 of the projects presented at the Cartoon Movie is secured in less
than two years.

“Belleville Rendez-Vous” by Sylvain Chomet ©Les Armateurs

For the last ten years, the European animation industry has been experiencing a boost, previously unknown. Between 1964 and 1998 a total of 136 animation feature films were produced. In comparison, 108 feature films (for an amount of 660 million EUR) have been completely financed and put into production since the creation of Cartoon Movie in 1999. Production output has therefore considerably increased, from 5 to more than 15 films annually.

Box offices show the same expansion. Big successes such as “Kirikou”, “Werner”, “The Little Polar Bear”, “Belleville Rendez-Vous” or “Azur & Asmar» have achieved more than 1 million entries while «Arthur & the Minimoys» has even generated 6 million. Most animated features registered easily 300 000 admissions domestically. But several of the films released in 2006-2007 received 500 000 to more than 800 000 box office admissions. It is clear that animation in Europe has an ever-growing audience.