The Golden Film is a film award recognizing domestic box office achievements in the Netherlands. The Golden Film is awarded to films from the Netherlands once they have sold 100,000 tickets. The award is an initiative by the Netherlands Film Festival and the Netherlands Film Fund to increase media attention for Dutch films. For each awarded film there is one trophy for the film crew and another for the film cast.
When the Golden Film was introduced in 2001, it was awarded to films once they had sold 75,000 tickets. In the following years, the public's interest in Dutch films in the Netherlands had increased. In 2003, the audience criterion was increased to 100,000 tickets in an effort to further stimulate the Dutch film industry. Since its introduction, the Golden Film has been awarded to 52 films.[i]
While the cast and crew have considered their receiving films to be successful, critics have said that films that sold only 75,000 or 100,000 tickets cannot be considered a commercial success. For this reason the fact that Dutch newspapers report about this award is also criticized.