| Nordisk Film A/S | |
| Former Name: | Ole Olsen Filmfabrik |
| Type: | Subsidiary |
| Founder: | Ole Olsen |
| Location City: | Valby, Copenhagen |
| Location Country: | Denmark |
| Key People: | Allan Mathson Hansen (CEO) |
| Industry: | Entertainment |
| Products: | Motion pictures, television programs, cinemas, event tickets |
| Revenue: | (2018)[1] |
| Operating Income: | (2018) |
| Parent: | Egmont Group |
| Subsid: | Avalanche Studios Group Globalgate Entertainment[2] Supermassive Games MercurySteam (40%)[3] |
Nordisk Film A/S[4] is a Danish film production and distribution company and a subsidiary of Egmont Group. The multimedia entertainment company is also involved in television production, cinemas, computer games and advertising.
The film studio was established in 1906 in Valby, Copenhagen by filmmaker Ole Olsen.[5] It is the fourth-oldest film studio in the world behind the Gaumont Film Company, Pathé, and Titanus, and the oldest studio to be continuously active.[6] [7] The logo consists of a polar bear standing on the globe.
Olsen started his company in the Copenhagen suburb of Valby under the name "Ole Olsen's Film Factory," but soon changed it to the Nordisk Films Kompagnie.[8]
In 1908, Olsen opened an affiliate branch in New York, the Great Northern Film Company, to handle the distribution of his films to the American market. In 1909, having been excluded from the MPPC cartel in the United States, which Olsen had hoped to join, Nordisk participated in the Paris Film Congress in a failed attempt by major European producers to form a similar monopoly.[9] It became a publicly traded company in 1911 as Nordisk Film.[10] During the 1910s, the company created popular silent films with movie stars such as Valdemar Psilander and Clara Pontoppidan.[8]
When Germany invaded Denmark during World War II, the company was locked out of the nationalized German film industry and lost large amounts of revenue.[8]
In 1992, it merged with the Egmont media group, operating as electronic media production and distribution group. The total revenues in 2018 amounted to approximately €559 million.[11] Nordisk Film is one of the oldest movie production company still in operation in the world. Nordisk Film is the largest producer and distributor of electronic entertainment in the Nordic region.
The company produces and co-produces national and international feature films in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, which are distributed to cinemas around the Nordic countries, including Nordisk Film Cinemas in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.[12] The films are also distributed internationally for viewing in cinemas, on video and on television.[13]
Furthermore, Nordisk Film produces games through a number of game studios invested in by Nordisk Film Games, distributes PlayStation in the Nordic and Baltic countries and develops global digital gifting solutions through GoGift.[14]
Through the Nordisk Film Foundation, Nordisk Film develops danish acting talents with travel scholarships of DKK 10,000 (Lille Isbjørn) or DKK 25,000 (Store Isbjørn).[15] As of 2024, the Nordisk Film Foundation stated an annual budget of DKK 7 million for the development of the Danish film industry though scholarships, project grants and awards.[16]
Nordisk Film Production focuses primarily on the Scandinavian market but produces feature films, animation films, short films, TV series, and TV documentaries for both the Scandinavian and international market. They have a hand in roughly 15 productions per year, spanning a range of formats and genres. Nordisk Film Production [17]
In October 2009, Nordisk sold its TV production unit to the Banijay Group.[18]
Nordisk Film Distribution handles and distributes the rights to its own productions, a number of local films as well as independent productions. Nordisk Film also partners with international film studios for distribution in Scandinavia. [19]
Nordisk Film Interactive has exclusive distribution rights to Sony PlayStation products in the Nordic countries, and is thereby responsible for a substantial business area in Nordisk Film.[20]
Nordisk Film Cinemas is a cinema chain in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, screening for approximately ten million cinema guests per year.[21] The company also offers two online platforms - kino.dk and filmweb.no (only available in danish) - where the customer can watch, review and discuss current films.
Nordisk Games is an investor in and owner of several European game studios. Nordisk Games has invested in nine game companies since its foundation in 2016: Avalanche Studios Group, Supermassive Games, Flashbulb Games, MercurySteam, Multiverse, Star Stable Entertainment, Nitro Games, Raw Fury, and Reto-Moto, whereof the two ladder companies have been sold.[22] [23]
In May 2018, it was announced that Nordisk Games had acquired all of Avalanche Studios.[24]
In July 2022, Nordisk Games acquired all of Supermassive Games[25]
In April 2023, the Founder of Nordisk Games, Mikkel Weider, exits as CEO.[26]