WHAT'S THE BEST OPENING SEQUENCE IN CINEMA? EUROPE MAY HAVE THE ANSWER

A few months back, Mastercard teamed-up with the Cannes Film Festival in order to find out what's the most praised introductory sequence among film fans across Europe. After all, this current Netflix generation tends to judge a movie as soon as it's begun; so it would be interesting to know what people have to say on this matter, regardless of their age, status, or doctrine. So, with that in mind, here, check this out...





Now this research was carried out by questioning over thirty-two thousand film fans across fifteen markets located in Europe, two thousand of which were based in the UK. Through this, they eventually discovered the following five facts:

1) ATTENTION:   Over 55% of respondents in Germany, Hungary, the Republic of Ireland, and Sweden said that they judge a film by the starting scene, whereas 83% of Brits turn off a movie if they don't immediately like the look of it. Also, 72% of Europeans collectively agree that an incredible opening scene makes a film more memorable as a whole, and on average, it takes about 17 minutes to convince them to keep their eyes glued to the screen.

2) CINEMATIC COMPONENTS:   Some of the key factors to aid a European box office hit, include: Smart dialogue (26%), an unexpected twist (40%); and romance (19%), saying so because they each help tap into the viewer's emotions and allow them to engage with their own desires.

3) MUSIC:   I'm sure most people will agree that music plays a large part in helping a scene flow on both a thematic and emotional level. As a matter of fact, 30% of movie-mavens based in the UK say that an amazing soundtrack is an essential component to a great opening scene, with Saturday Night Fever (1977) hitting the top spot with 9% of the vote, closely followed by Elton John’s rendition of ‘Circle of Life’ from The Lion King (1994) with 7% of the vote.

4) DIRECTORS:   Now where directors are concerned, Steven Spielberg came out on top because those polled thought he consistently created the perfect start to a box office hit. Quentin Tarantino, on the other hand, came second with 10% of the vote, and in third place was Alfred Hitchcock with 9% for composing all of those spine-tingling scenes.

5) TASTE:   Each country across Europe seem to have their own personal tastes where it comes down to a films introduction and style. For instance, 30% of French fans are generally hopeless romantics; 25% of Polish people dig a hero with swagger; 31% of citizens from the Czech Republic enjoy a quick-witted one-liner; and 29% of Russians like a good laugh from the outset.

Now for a quick run-down on the results of this research please check out the following two lists. 

Europe’s Top Five Movie Opening Scenes

 (1) Titanic / (2) Lion King / (3) Pulp Fiction / (4) Star Wars Episode IV / (5) Jaws

Country	Film	Percentage
Czech Republic	Titanic	13%
Denmark	Pulp Fiction	8%
France	Titanic	10%
Germany	Lion King	9%
Hungary	Titanic	11%
Italy	Titanic	7%
Netherlands	Lion King	10%
Poland	Titanic	9%
Republic of Ireland	Pulp Fiction	9%
Russia	Titanic	11%
Spain	Star Wars Episode IV	9%
Sweden	Lion King	9%
Switzerland	Lion King	10%
Turkey	Titanic	13%
UK	Star Wars Episode IV & Jaws	10%

Europe’s Top Five Directors (of movie opening scenes)

(1) Steven Spielberg / (2) Quentin Tarantino / (3) Alfred Hitchcock / (4) Ridley Scott / (5) George Lucas

Country	Movie Director	Percentage
UK	Steven Spielberg	19.17%
Czech Republic	Steven Spielberg	22.62%
Denmark	Steven Spielberg	17.37%
France	Steven Spielberg	24.16%
Germany	Steven Spielberg	22.97%
Hungary	Steven Spielberg	27.15%
Italy	Steven Spielberg	21.19%
Netherlands	Steven Spielberg	25.91%
Poland	Quentin Tarantino	18.71%
Republic of Ireland	Steven Spielberg	23.65%
Russia	Steven Spielberg	23.95%
Sweden	Steven Spielberg	13.55%
Switzerland	Steven Spielberg	23.99%
Turkey	Steven Spielberg	20.86%