27/02/2025 - Films for children and titles from the USA and outside of the EU were Germany’s big winners last year

The German box office has yet to return to pre-pandemic numbers, but interesting changes are happening in the cinema landscape, according to the German Federal Film Board (FFA, or Filmförderungsanstalt). The categories of fantasy, drama and comedy came out on top at the 2024 German box office, with the FFA reporting that a staggering 65,2% more tickets for children’s films were sold in 2024 than in 2023. The other big winner were films from countries other than the EU and USA, where there were 474 films (up from 389 in 2023) that oversaw over 7 million admissions, an astonishing 88,5% increase compared to 2023’s numbers. Films from EU countries excluding Germany also saw an impressive 19,6% increase.

However, the German box office overall suffered a 5,8% decrease in admissions from 2023, falling to 90,1 million tickets sold in 2024 with a box office of €868,4 million. 2019 saw the box office rake in over €1 billion, while 2023 was on track to recreate these pre-pandemic numbers with €929,1 million, a 20 million increase in admissions from 2022. In fact, nearly all other aspects of German cinemas were also down slightly, including a decrease in average ticket price (from €9,71 to €9,64), the number of exhibitors and the number of locations.

According to information from distributors collected by the FFA, German productions and co-productions occupied a market share of 20,6%, a 3,7% decrease from 2023. There were 17,7 million admissions to German films, down a hefty 20.9% from 2023’s numbers. 34% of all films released in-country had German involvement, 20% of films were from EU member states, 17% were films from the US and 28% were from other countries.

The top five grossing German productions or co-productions were School of Magical Animals 3 by Sven Unterwaldt Jr., Chantal in Fairyland by Bora Daǧtekin, A Million Minutes by Christopher Doll, Old White Man [+see also:
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film profile] by Simon Verhoeven and Woodwalkers [+see also:
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film profile] by Damian John Harper. Interestingly, Germany also saw growth in the number of documentaries shown in cinemas. In 2024, documentaries made up nearly one-third of all German films shown, with the other two-thirds composed of fiction features. This can be compared to the percentage of films shown regardless of origin, where documentaries only made up one-fifth of those shown in German cinemas. Nonetheless, the box office saw a fall in admissions of 27,3% for German documentaries and 25,3% for documentaries overall.

The top five overall box office spots were occupied by films from the USA — but notably, the top three films were all animated: Inside Out 2 (5,7 million admissions), Despicable Me 4 (4,3 million admissions) and Moana 2 (nearly 3,6 million). These were followed by Dune: Part Two (3,1 million) and Deadpool and Wolverine (3 million admissions). German productions School of Magical Animals 3 (2,9 million) and Chantal in Fairyland (2,7 million) came in very respectable close succession with the sixth and seventh spots.