The world of film in Germany

Biggest film festival

With ticket sales of some 320,000 in 2023, the Berlinale is one of the leading audience festivals worldwide. It attracted approximately a million visitors in 2024.

Most successful feature film

Michael Herbig’s Der Schuh des Manitu (2001) remains the most successful German film since 1965, attracting nearly twelve million cinema-goers.

World-famous film music

Hans Zimmer is one of the most famous film composers in the world. The Frankfurt-born composer has won two Oscars, three Grammys and three Golden Globes.

Most successful German film at the Oscars

In 2023, All Quiet on the Western Front won four Oscars – more than any other German film before it. 

Biggest film studio in Europe

Babelsberg is the second oldest large-scale film studio in the world and the biggest in Europe. Marlene Dietrich is among the stars to have made films there. Recent successful productions include The Hunger Games and Uncharted.

Most successful German film production company

Founded in 1950, Constantin Film has been highly successful both nationally and internationally with productions such as Fack ju Göhte and the Resident Evil series.

Renowned film school

Whether Wim Wenders, Roland Emmerich, Caroline Link or Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck: no other German film school has produced as many internationally renowned star directors as the University of Television and Film (HFF) in Munich.

Most successful German film in the USA

Das Boot (1982) by Wolfgang Petersen remains the German film to have achieved the greatest success in the USA, with box office takings of almost twelve million US dollars.

Cinemas in Germany

Germans are keen cinema-goers, which is why the country has so many cinemas.  In 2024, 711 new films were shown on 4,895 screens in 1,752 cinemas at 955 venues.

Cinema visits

80.9 million tickets were sold at German cinemas in 2024.