UniFrance Films box office report: A lukewarm opening for Populaire across the Channel.
Populaire had a somewhat mediocre debut in the United Kingdom (Alliance-Momentum), with just under 19,000 admissions registered in its opening weekend, with 76 prints in circulation. Released at the same time in South Korea (Pancinéma), it has also struggled to find an audience in this market. Despite an ambitious release of 114 prints on its opening weekend, it only attracted a meager 9,000 spectators. This film's international career has so far proved disappointing. To date, not one European market has shown more than limited enthusiasm: 51,000 admissions in Germany (StudioCanal – 8 weeks), 37,000 in Belgium (Cinéart - 9 weeks), 21,000 in Russia (CP Digital – 3 weeks), and 14,000 in French-speaking Switzerland (JMH – 8 weeks). However, since it has been sold in a wide range of markets around the world, many opportunities still remain for the film to fulfill its promise, notably in the United Kingdom (Weinstein Co.), Italy (Bim), Brazil (Paris Fimes), Japan (Gaga), Turkey (Calinos), and India (Tanweer).
Something in the Air pulled in 7,000 spectators from 32 prints on its opening weekend in Germany (NFP) and 2,000 in Austria (Polyfilm). These are good, but not excellent, results in these German-language markets. After its second weekend in the UK (Artificial Eye), it registered 9,000 admissions, from a maximum of 20 prints at its highest point. This film has achieved its best results to date in Italy (Officine), where it is credited with 33,000 admissions. This high score can be partly attributed to the fact that the film is partially set in Italy, as well as its Best Screenplay award at the 2012 Venice Film Festival. For the record, its director Olivier Assayas's previous films have performed well abroad, such as Carlos (200,000 admissions, including 56,000 in Germany and 38,000 in Venezuela) and Summer Hours (685,000 admissions, including 237,000 in the USA and 110,000 in Australia).
Renoir continues its successful run in the USA. Its box office takings rose by 34% in its 9th week in USA/English-speaking Canada (Samuel Goldwyn). It took an additional $240,000 (for around 32,000 admissions), to reach a total of $1.8 million (238,000 admissions). Renoir currently posts a total of 444,000 admissions outside France.
