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The rich and diverse medium of anime invites fans to experience no shortage of captivating stories. Pushing the bounds of narrative virtuosity, visual technique, and artistic expressiveness, the best anime films and series are universally acclaimed as masterpieces. In the opulent tapestry of the medium’s cream of the crop, titles like Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Gintama, and countless other esteemed works make new fans fall in love with anime and encourage audiences to revisit them time and time again. However, like any prolific medium, anime hardly counts only admired masterworks and celebrated smash hits. Aside from the plethora of forgettable and mediocre titles, a few are situated on the very opposite end of the spectrum from the medium’s revered sensations — the worst anime of all time.

An anime series’ quality is hardly an objective metric. Nonetheless, quite a handful of titles are recognized and remembered by the...

After the hopeful signs of recovery over the last two years, attendance in all five markets dropped again in 2024, by a small margin of 3% in Denmark to nearly 13% in Norway. Post Covid effects and Hollywood strikes that led to a lack of U.S. tentpoles were blamed for the decline, however mitigated in some territories by the strong performance of domestic fare.

In Finland, local titles secured a record 31.6% market share, with the local epic love story “Stormskerry Maja” leading the charge. In Sweden, the local champion was the heart-warming documentary “The Last Journey” in which the TV personalities Filip Hammar and Fredrik Wikingsson (aka Filip & Fredrik) travel to France to rekindle the zest for life of Filip’s aging dad. The Swedish Oscar entry largely contributed to the country’s 22% market-share and biggest ticket sales in seven years.

In Iceland, it was Hollywood-Icelandic filmmaker Baltasar Kormákur who delivered the...

Scandinavian Streaming Surge

Sf Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery have entered a content partnership for the Nordic region. The deal grants Wbd’s Max streaming service first-run rights to Sf Studios’ local and international titles post-theatrical and transactional windows.

The agreement aims to bolster Sf Studios’ investment in Nordic productions and expand audience reach through Max in the region.

Upcoming titles include Tarik Saleh’s “Eagles of the Republic” starring Fares Fares, Norwegian crime adaptation “The Nation’s Gambit,” and Mikkel Serup’s “Kingmaker,” a sequel to 2004’s “Kongekabale.” International films like “The Zone of Interest” and “Horizon – An American Saga” are also part of the deal, starting mid-July.

“The collaboration is an important step in Sf Studios’ strategy to expand its licensing and distribution business in the Nordics and at the same time offer a strong line-up of Nordic and international films to consumers in the Nordic marketplace,” Sf Studios said in a statement.

Sf Studios, the leading Scandinavian banner behind “Snabba Cash” and “A Man Called Otto,” has boarded “Kingmaker,” the sequel of the 2004 Danish hit movie “Kongekabale.”

The political thriller is an adaptation of Niels Krause-Kjær’s second novel “Mørkeland” about the adventures of an investigative journalist, Ulrik Torp. The initial movie was a local blockbuster, selling over 550,000 tickets in Danish theaters.

The film, directed by Mikkel Serup, brings back Anders W. Berthelsen in the lead role as Ulrik Torp, starring alongside Danish star Nicolas Bro (“Riders of Justice”) and Charlotte Munck (“Open Spaces”) also returning in their roles. Penned by Marie Østerbye, “Kingmaker” is produced by Sara Namer and Morten Kjems Hytten Juhl at Meta Film, and executive produced by Meta Film’s Louise Foldager. Sf Studios distributes the film in the Nordics, while REinvent handles international sales.

“Much has changed since ‘Kongekabale’ was released in 2004,” said Serup. “The media, the political scene,...