The motto for the German-speaking market has been one big horror show. Lockdowns and strict Covid-safety requirements have lowered audience numbers to the point where many theater chains have been struggling. In Austria, a complete lockdown means that all theaters are closed for the time being and the numbers are at zero. In Germany, cinema fans continue to have to show the so-called 2G proof: fully vaccinated or recently recovered. A negative test is no longer good enough.

There is a glimmer of hope, though. Last weekend the numbers held up at least, thanks to a strong (under the circumstances) opening of House of Gucci. This also means that it – finally – exceeded the curse of 2020’s cumulative box office. The optimistic prognosis from last summer for a 2021 total, however, will not be reached. Germany counted 532.000 theatergoers with a total of 4.8 million euros in 988 theaters that are open. Last week it was still 1009.

141.000 people went to see Ridley Scott’s new film, which is a paltry number in normal conditions but seems like a triumph in these times. A Boy Named Christmas starring Henry Lawfull, Dame Maggie Smith, and Kristen Wiig held steady while Encanto saw a drop of 23%. And No Time to Die is only slowly inching towards the six million moviegoer mark with 34,7% compared to last week’s 54,3%. Clearly, not even 007 can save himself from the economic effects of the pandemic. Clifford, the Big Red Dog debuted at number five with 38.000 tickets sold.

A look at the different German counties shows that, excluding Saxony which is under full lockdown, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has the lowest number of open cinemas with 56%, followed by Bavaria with 69%. Versus the highest which is Hamburg county with 96% of their theaters active. But when it comes to ticket sales, Hamburg still came in second behind Schleswig-Holstein.

In Austria, Ghostbusters: Legacy (Ghostbusters: Afterlife in the US and Canada) topped the charts before the lockdown, followed by Eternals and No Time to Die. The rise of a domestic hit – Klammer, the biopic about Austria’s most successful downhill champion of all time – was cut short because of theater closures. It had debuted at number 10 the week before and showed great promise for climbing the charts.