Attracting 494,000 spectators in the first four months of the year, French films have topped last year's results for the same period by 100,000 admissions (395,000 admissions).
These good results can be largely credited to the success of Xavier Beauvois's Of God and Men, which was released by Metropole Films Distribution on an ambitious 32-print release. The film has registered 151,843 admissions, taking CAD$1.4 million. Publicity for the film was boosted by the presence of its monastic adviser Henry Quinson in Montreal, with an abundance of rave reviews and positive word of mouth. Other French releases in this early part of the year in Quebec include the final two episodes Luc Besson's trilogy, Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard (54,904 admissions) and Arthur: The War of the Two Worlds (15,761 admissions). Released by Alliance Vivafilm during the school vacation period, the second episode attracted only one quarter of audiences registered by the first episode Arthur and the Minimoys (201,200 admissions), and the third installment fell well short. A surprisingly high score was registered by My Father's Guests by Anne Le Ny, which was released on four prints and held its ground on Montreal screens for ten weeks. It finished its run with 13,312 admissions and an impressive average of 3,328 admissions per print, thanks to the efforts of its distributor AZ Films.
This start to the year was less promising for a number of other French titles. Black Venus registered a meager 5,619 spectators, despite the presence of director Abdellatif Kechiche and an efficient publicity campaign orchestrated by Metropole Films Distribution. Guillaume Canet's Little White Lies also failed to hit a nerve with audiences, pulling in 25,548 admissions in two weeks after its distributors Equinox Films/Maple Pictures launched the film on 30 prints. The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec leveled out at 15,516 admissions on 27 prints, released by Les Films Séville/E 1. Among the most eagerly awaited titles to be released in upcoming months are Potiche (Séville), due to hit screens on May 13, at the same time as The Name of Love (Metropole). They will be followed by Poupoupidou (Axia Films Inc.) on May 27 in the wake of the Cannes Film Festival and prior to the release of Service Entrance (Séville) on June 3, Dear Prudence (K Films America) on June 10, and Romantics Anonymous (Métropole) on June 24.
