The spectacular career of "The Emperor's Journey" (released in the USA as "March of the Penguins") has generated wide media interest this summer.
And although this documentary by Luc Jacquet is the current French hit at the North American box office, it is nonetheless sharing the limelight with other fine performers such as "Haute tension" ("Switchblade Romance") by Alexandre Aja, which is approaching the $4 million mark; and "De battre mon cœur s’est arrêté" ("The Beat That My Heart Skipped") by Jacques Audiard, which looks set to pass the million dollar threshold.
The Spanish market has also given French productions the nod this summer: "Danny the Dog" by Louis Leterrier has clocked up 446,000 admissions since its release June 3; "Saint-Ange" by Pascal Laugier, released June 10, posts a running total of 280,000 admissions; "The Daltons" by Philippe Haïm boasts 165,000 spectators since July 8 and "Après vous" ("After You") by Pierre Salvadori has already registered 70,000 admissions since hitting the theaters August 11.
Other fine performances are attributed to "L’Empire des loups" ("Empire of the Wolves") by Chris Nahon in Russia, with 200,000 admissions to its credit since its release July 28, and, also in Russia, to "Anthony Zimmer," which looks set to finish its run with 150,000 admissions. It is also worth noting the excellent results of "L’Equipier" ("The Light") by Philippe Lioret as well as "Crustacés et coquillages" ("Mariscos Beach") by Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau, which both sailed through the 100,000 admissions mark in Germany this summer.
