UniFrance Films box office report: Populaire and the hard-fought campaign in Russia.
The release of Amour (Love) in the USA/English-speaking Canada (Sony) was expanded to 125 prints in its ninth week (+31 prints). It raked in an additional $580,000 to attain a total of $3.2 million since its launch in this market (around 427,000 admissions). The number of prints will be doubled next week to take advantage of the added momentum due to its Oscar nomination.
Amour continues its successful run in Spain, with 160,000 admissions registered after seven weeks. It has now outperformed a number of French hits of 2012, such as What's in a Name? (Vertigo, 153,000 admissions) and The Snows of Kilimanjaro (Golem, 150,000 admissions).
Amour currently tallies a total of 2 million spectators in international theaters.
Populaire has registered 21,000 admissions after three weeks in Russia (CP Digital). This is an average performance which must be viewed in relation to its limited release of 24 prints (maximum). After a record year in Russia in 2012 in which French films attracted 6.9 million spectators, the start to 2013 has proved sluggish. Populaire is the third French title released in this market this year, after Vie d’une autre and Rust & Bone (WDSSPR, 8,000 admissions). None of these titles were offered a wide release (a maximum of 35 prints for Rust & Bone), despite the presence of well-known stars (Cotillard, Binoche, and Duris).
French productions often suffer from a limited release in Russia, where films only remain on the screens for a very short time. In 2012, 25 French-language productions were released on less than 50 prints, with not one of them topping 25,000 admissions. The number of theaters continues to grow in this market, with Russia now counting over 1,000 outlets and over 3,000 screens, one third of which utilize digital technology.
