German Box Office Jumps 21 Percent in First Half of Year

Attendance figures are up nearly 20 percent, according to official figures.

Germany's box office is soaring, up more than 21 percent in the first half of this year, according to official figures released Tuesday.

Helped by the uber-success of local-language comedy Head Full of Honey from German star Til Schweiger, as well as studio imports including Fifty Shades of Grey and Furious 7, German box-office receipts hit $603.7 million (€545 million) in the first six months of 2015, 21.1 percent up on the same period last year.

Most of that jump was attributable to greater ticket sales, as attendance figures jumped 18.8 percent to 66.8 million. A small increase in average ticket price, to $9.04, also helped.

Head Full of Honey, the latest comedy hit from Schweiger, outpaced Fifty Shades of Grey to become the top-grossing title so far this year. Released on Christmas 2014, the film has earned some $63.6 million (€57.4 million) so far and is still screening in some German theaters. Schweiger is working on an English-language remake of the film, which he will also direct.

Head Full of Honey was by far the most successful German film released so far this year, but two more local-language comedies, Traumfrauen and Der Nanny, both, like Head Full of Honey, released through Warner Bros. Germany, topped $14 million.

Overall, however, the share of ticket sales going to German films was down to 26.8 percent in the first half, from 31.6 percent over the same period in 2014.

Twitter: @sroxborough