Turkish movie theaters draw more audiences

İZMİR - Anatolia News Agency

Some 21.36 million people in Turkey have gone to a movie in the country so far this year, representing a slight increase over box office numbers over the first 20 weeks of 2011, according to new data.

According to Box Office Turkey statistics, the number of cinema tickets sold in the first 20 weeks of the year increased by nearly 8 percent over 2011.

There was no change in audience number over the first 10 weeks of 2012 – a period that includes a school semester break – in comparison to last year, with 14.25 million people flocking to see movies like “Fetih 1453” (Conquest 1453) and “Berlin Kaplanı” (Berlin Tiger). In the second 10 weeks of the year, the number of cinemagoers dropped in half to 7.12 million.

The most popular film in the first 20 weeks of this year was “Fetih 1453,” breaking a record with 6.47 million viewers. It was followed by “Berlin Kaplanı” at 1.59 million and “Sen Kimsin?” (Who Are You?) on the same figure. Sixteen Turkish films and 78 Hollywood productions have been released so far this year in the country although films from the former have performed well despite the disparity in numbers.

The most watched 10 films in Turkey in the year’s first 20 weeks were as follows: “Fetih 1453,” “Berlin Kaplanı,” “Sen Kimsin?” “Sümela’nın Şifresi Temel” (The Secret Code of Sümela), “Puss in Boots,” “Hunger Games,” “Kurtuluş Son Durak” (Kurtuluş Last Stop), “Happy Feet,” “The Avengers” and “Clash of the Titans.”