UniFrance Films box office report: Billy and Buddy hits the road.
After Vive la France, it's now over to Billy and Buddy (uDream) to make its mark in European French-language markets. This screen adaptation of the Belgian comic book Boule et Bill has taken 4th place at the Belgian box office, with 22,000 admissions registered in its opening week and a total of 26,000 admissions since its release (including preview screenings). This fine performance was repeated in French-speaking Switzerland (Frenetic), where it attracted over 5,000 spectators in its opening week on 11 prints, and jumped to the number 2 spot. Billy and Buddy thus boasts the best debut so far in 2013 for a French film in both of these markets.
Following the film's success in French theaters, particularly with younger audiences, its distributor in Quebec, Métropole, decided to postpone its release until August in order to take full advantage of the summer vacation period.
Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia has seen attendance figures in Quebec (Les Films Séville) rise by 50% over the previous week. The local school holiday period proved fruitful for the film, which has now raked in close to CAD$1 million, with 116,000 spectators registered. From next week, it should match admissions to the third and previous film in the series, Asterix at the Olympic Games (Alliance, 141,000 admissions in 2008). Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia currently tallies a total of 3.6 million admissions in international theaters.
Ernest & Celestine has made a good start in Quebec (Métropole), pulling in 10,000 admissions from 27 prints. These are encouraging initial results for this independent animated film aimed at very young (preschool) audiences. The best performance in this category in Quebec was Kirikou and the Sorceress, which attracted 34,000 spectators in 2000. Mia & the Migoo (Métropole), Raining Cats and Frogs (Séville), and Eleanor's Secret (Métropole) did not manage to top the 10,000 admissions mark. Also released in Belgium (Cinéart, 77,000 admissions), Switzerland (Ascot-Elite, 34,000 admissions), and Italy (Sacher, 31,000 admissions), Ernest & Celestine posts a running total of 150,000 admissions abroad.
A few words here about The Intouchables, whose international run has taken it to over a dozen countries so far in 2013. With 50 million admissions in international theaters to its credit, this film has just reached the status of the most successful French film of all time in Norway (Scanbox), clocking up an impressive 174,000 admissions. Since the start of the year, The Intouchables has also become the first French-language film to have crossed the 100,000 spectators threshold in New Zealand (Roadshow). And finally, in Germany (Senator), where it has posted its best performance outside France, the number of prints in circulation has not dropped below 30, and since three weeks ago was increased to 118 prints, marking its 62nd week in German theaters.
