Seigneurs has hit the screens in Italy, while Chicken with Plums begins its run in South Korea.
Seigneurs has got off to a disappointing start in Italy (Medusa), registering a low average of 137 spectators per print in its opening week, with 30,000 tickets sold. Its ambitious 219-print release will no doubt be radically reduced from its second week. These initial results have nonetheless allowed the film to hit 6th place at the box office. Released in Italy a short time after Spain (Alimpro Films), where it pulled in 27,000 spectators in seven weeks, Seigneurs is still struggling to find an audience in southern Europe. In 2012, audiences in French-language European markets showed strong interest in the film, with 103,000 admissions registered in Belgium (Films de l’élysée) and 44,000 in French-speaking Switzerland (Praesens). It has, however, achieved surprising results in South Korea (Pure Features International), where it tallied a total of 10,000 admissions, marking an excellent score in a market in which French comedies are rarely released.
Populaire has attracted 315,000 spectators in international theaters. It has registered 70,000 admissions after four weeks on the screens in Italy (Bim), which ranks as the film's best performance to date outside France. It is, however, unlikely to exceed 100,000 admissions in this market by the end of its run. Still showing in the United Kingdom (EOne), it pulled in a meager 2,700 admissions in its fifth week, with 54,000 tickets sold, which is the second highest score for a French-language film in the UK in the first six months of 2013, after In the House (EOne, 144,000 admissions). Results in Spain (Vertigo) are disappointing, with 18,000 admissions registered in three weeks. The effects of the currently lackluster theatrical market in Spain are clearly being felt, with only two French-language titles breaking the 50,000 admissions barrier since the beginning of the year: Love (Golem, 206,000 admissions) and Haute Cuisine (Golem, 82 000), which are unusually low scores for French films in this market.
Chicken With Plums was released in South Korea (Timestoory Group) later than in other markets and two years after it was presented at the Busan International Film Festival. It posted a total of 8,000 admissions after ten days, which is an encouraging score in a market in which around two thirds of the French-language films released do not achieve more than 1,000 admissions. After kicking off its international run in 2011, Chicken with Plums currently boasts a total of 287,000 admissions outside France, including 83,000 in Italy (Officine), 37,000 in Germany (Prokino), 26,000 in the USA and English-speaking Canada (Sony), 20,000 in Greece (Seven), and 11,000 in Japan (Gaga) and Hong Kong (Edko).
