For the month of November 2003, “Tais-toi” and “Mauvais Esprit” lead the charts in the French-language film category, thanks in particular to strong support from Belgian and Swiss audiences.
The best results of the month come from “Tais-toi” in Italy. The film was launched in the country November 14 by Filmauro on an ambitious 169-print release. Attracting 184,000 spectators in its first two weeks on the screens, it raked in 1.12 million euros. Right from its opening week, the film sat at number 4 at the Italian box office, behind “Love Actually,” “The Matrix Revolutions” and “Mystic River.” Distributed in Belgium by Cinéart, “Tais-toi” continues its excellent run, registering over 170,000 admissions and tallying 970,000 euros by December 4. In the month of November alone, the film took 657,000 euros in the country with 28 prints released. In French-speaking Switzerland, its distributor Frenetic Films launched 6 prints on October 22, upping this to 10 prints in its second week. The film was credited with a good average score of around 1,200 spectators per print for the month of November.
Also boasting fine results in Belgium, “Mauvais Esprit” has managed to hit number 2 at the local box office. Its distributor Alternative released the film November 5 on 20 prints, and by December 4, it was already charging ahead with 630,000 euros in the till. The film was credited with an excellent per-print average of 3,796 spectators in its opening week.
Another standout title, “Euro Pudding” (also released as “The Spanish Apartment”), is continuing its brilliant career, now finally released in Germany and Austria. As has been the case in other European countries, the film appears to have hit the mark. Its German distributor, Tobis, initially offered the film an 11-print release, only to raise this to 43 prints in its second week and then to 48 prints in the third week. Clearly a wise move, considering that 95,066 moviegoers saw the film during these first three weeks.
And finally, one more surprise hit for the month, this time in the United States with the launch of “Les Triplettes de Belleville” (“The Triplets of Belleville”). The film by Sylvain Chomet was released in the territory November 21 by Sony Pictures Classics. With just 6 prints in circulation, the film clocked up $143,000 in its opening week, representing 24,000 spectators – a healthy average estimated at around 4,000 spectators per print.
Since its release in New York on September 19, 2003, “To Be and To Have” by Nicolas Philibert has continued to attract more and more spectators each week in the U.S.A. The film has turned up trumps for its distributor, New Yorker Films, who initially launched it on 3 prints. This has now been raised to 7 prints, with the film tallying $369,000 at the box office at November 27.
A minority-French co-production, “Dogville” is currently distributed in 7 of our 16 reference countries. It is in Italy that the film made its biggest impression in November. Released November 7 on 88 prints, it took 1.4 million euros and registered more than 247,000 spectators in its first three weeks on the screens.
“Invasion of the Barbarians” by Denys Arcand, another French co-production, hit movie theaters in the United States November 21, and in Germany November 27. In an excellent opening week in the U.S.A., the film pulled around 32,400 spectators on 8 prints, for $165,000 at the box office.
For any further information, please contact:
Julien Gaulier: Economic Data Manager
© Unifrance – Le film français
