Digitisation of cinemas

Digitisation of cinemas broke through in Sweden in earnest in 2010 and, in 2012, the largest cinema chain, SF Bio, is expected to have implemented the technology shift at its cinemas. By October 2011, 233 screens had been digitised, and an additional 48 screens were in the process of being digitised. At the same time, digitisation has resulted in a reduction in the number of analogue film copies and the cinemas that do not digitalise risk being eliminated.

As digitisation calls for large investment from cinema owners, the Government has decided to allocate a total of SEK 60 million during four years (2011–2014) for the digitisation of cinemas. The funding, which is administered by the Swedish Film Institute Foundation, is particularly targeted at cinemas in places with up to 250 000 inhabitants or that mainly show a complementary range of quality films from diverse language areas. Just one round of funding has been distributed, so an evaluation has not yet been conducted.