New data from the Association of Cinema and Film Distributors has revealed the highest-grossing movies in Switzerland in 2023. In what was a year of recovery for cinemas across Swiss cities and cantons, the silver screen was dominated by just four films.

Swiss movie theatres continue their slow recovery

According to the Federal Statistical Office, Swiss cinemas recorded 10,5 million admissions in 2023, a 21 percent increase compared to the year before. While movie theatres continued their recovery - after movie attendance dropped like a stone during the COVID pandemic - attendance figures are still 16 percent less than the pre-COVID peak recorded in 2019.

In fact, many businesses saw the curtail fall for the last time in 2023, with the number of cinemas and movie seats falling to 616 and 97.000 respectively. For comparison, in 1964, there were 646 movie theatres in Switzerland, boasting a combined 234.000 seats.

This year, the movie theatres were dominated by full-on Hollywood blockbusters. While 3.405 movies were shown at the pictures last year, just four films were responsible for a quarter of all cinema admissions. American films made up 68,5 percent of movies shown, followed by European (23,4 percent) and Swiss films (5,1 percent).

Switzerland living in a Barbie world in 2023

In 2023, according to data from the Swiss Association of Cinema and Film Distributors, the Swiss had a penchant for pink and glitz, with Barbie ranking as the most popular film. 723.829 tickets for the film were sold last year.

However, it must be noted that Avatar: The Way of Water, would likely have come first if James Cameron’s Sci-Fi romp had been released in 2023 and not December 2022. The film sold over 1 million tickets in Switzerland overall, but sold only 638.851 of them in 2023, pushing the movie to second place. With 578.510 tickets sold, The Super Mario Bros. Movie rounded out the podium, with Christopher Nolan’s historical epic Oppenheimer placing fourth.

Most watched films in Switzerland in 2023

In all, here are the 10 best-selling cinema releases in Switzerland in 2023:

1. Barbie (723.527)
2. Avatar: The Way of Water (638.851)
3. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (578.510)
4. Oppenheimer (516.198)
5. Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning - Part One (217.028)
6. Fast X (216.677)
7. Elemental (199.614)
8. Puss In Boots: The Last Wish (197.414)
9. John Wick: Chapter 4 (183.420)
10. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (183.265)

In terms of the most popular Swiss film, the top spot went to Bon Schuur Ticino with 105.125 tickets sold. The comedy follows a story where Switzerland holds a referendum to scrap the four national languages in favour of one that everyone must speak. Much to the dismay of the Swiss German main character, they pick French, leading to him joining an Italian-speaking armed resistance group in Canton Ticino.

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