After just 10 days on Canadian screens, "Euro Pudding" has raked in CAD$300,000 at the box office (50,000 admissions).
The film has thus grabbed the number 1 position among French films distributed in Quebec since the start of 2003. With 17 prints released by Christal Films on March 21, the film by Cédric Klapisch ranked 4th at the week’s box office charts, behind American blockbusters "Dreamcatcher" (Warner), "Tears of the Sun" (Columbia) and "View of the Top" (Alliance).
"Euro Pudding" has benefited from a full blown promotional campaign (posters in the Montreal subway, press advertising, radio spots on Rythme FM and Cité Rock Détente, TV spots aired on TVA, Télé-Québec and Radio-Canada), reinforced by excellent word of mouth.
The local media has clearly fallen under the spell of the film’s lead actor: "the excellent Romain Duris" (La Presse); "Neither nostalgic nor condescending, Klapisch looks once again into the ever more brightly shining eyes of Romain Duris" (Voir). Christal Films has therefore high hopes of topping the CAD$800,000 mark (representing more than 133,000 admissions) by the end of the film’s run.
"Euro Pudding" has also benefited from media exposure generated by the recent Ottawa Film Festival. The festival featured a gala screening of the film, in the presence of the Canadian Prime Minister, Mr. Jean Chrétien, and the French Ambassador to Canada, Mr. Philippe Guelly.
The top admissions scores for "Euro Pudding" are currently held by Italy (304,000 spectators), Spain (295,000 spectators), Belgium (157,000 spectators) and Switzerland (152,500 spectators).
Magali Reysset
