I wonder why it's reported that this film has gotten more people in the theatre seats than any French film since La Grande Vadrouille in 1965, when Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) made the same claim? Anybody know?
shareBrotherhood of the Wolf got a bit more than 5 millions tickets sold
so way less than La grande vadrouille
"wolf" is a dwarf compared to the ch'tis.
Where did you get that information from ?
Supposedly this is what the International Film Festival in Christchurch was touting at the time. It seems like the imdb news section had something about it too around early 2002.
But at any rate, that film is one of the highest-grossing in France, and now I know it indeed wasn't THE highest!
-Dengar
http://www.allocine.fr/film/meilleurs_gen_filtre=bofrance&critique=&annee=&tri=touslestemps&page=4.html
It's not even in the top 50 of all time in France
By the way, those figures are the number of viewers who saw the film at the cinema.
shareit seems they excluded films such as emmanuelle (1974) which scored a bout 8 million as I could remember ..
sharealso Le corniaud and some other french comedies, and some old classics....
the list is totally amateurish!!
I wonder if they make adjustments for box office figures when making comparisons. Some movies in recent years look like they have bigger audiences due to the huge run up in ticket prices.
Old movies like Gone with the Wind, Star Wars, etc had very low ticket prices by today's standards. I can remember seeing movies for a quarter as a child.
"Brotherhood" sold hardly 5 million tickets, while "Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis" sold more than 20 million (2nd highest grossing movie ever in France - behind Titanic). It's also the new highest-grossing French movie of all time, claiming a 40 year old record previously held by "La Grande Vadrouille" (another comedy - a French classic).
"Brotherhood" was actually a letdown commercially, as it cost something like $30-35 million and needed 6-7 million tickets sold to be profitable in theaters (the double-dipped DVDs helped them getting their money back, eventually).
"Your momma ain’t name you no damn Barack!" DMX
Thanks for the informative post! That explains why there wasn't any quick rush to make a BOTW spin-off. I wish I could remember the original blurb I read about BOTW back in 2002 that claimed it was the top French production, but in retrospect it appears facts were stretched or examined from a certain angle allowing it to hold a higher place than was reality.
shareThey're probably talking about international takings - most of the top homegrown French domestic hits didn't travel well, but Brotherhood did nearly $60m outside France. Most French films do so poorly internationally they barely register on most international tracking sites.
"Life flash before your eyes? Cup of tea, cup of tea, almost got a shag, cup of tea."
Thank you! I think you hit the nail on the head. It may not have did sizable business in France, but I think headlines at the time were picking up on the fact that it was doing great business internationally. So maybe at the time its reputation was that it was the second-highest grossing French film on an international scale.
shareBotW was indeed something of let down for the producers in France but given the scale of the thing they knew they would be able to sell it internationally.
The anticipation of a major success for the movie was prevalent in France at the time given the massive budget the movie had.
It's quite a good film IMO.
The gevaudan beast always had me scarred when i was young , and in a different way it still does.
I agree, it's a stunning film, which is why I read about its monetary success at the time and was glad for its reputation (which like your fear of the Gevaudan Beast) is different than I once understood but in no way diminishing my appreciation of the film.
shareSure It did not became a license to print but as far as I know nobody was bankrupt either.
Christophe Gans was already on hollywood radar but ,more than anything, his capacity to pull something this big is what really appeals to US producers , the guy is not gonna crumble under pressure or use money in stupid ways.
The beast is , when you think about it , something special .
OK , a ferocious animal (pick your favourite) was involved but as far as I know animal(s) don't decapitate people or undress them before attacking them.
More than 100 violent deaths ; with men and beast "working" together is quite something
but ask the average french on the street today and you'll get "Nessie" "Bigfoot" or Yeti kind of answer.
Which make the story even more fascinating.
To be honest, i am sad that "Bienvenue chez les ch'tis" is the best french movie at the french box office.It doesn't deserve it.
If you want to see a real good french movie in american theaters, then watch "JCVD" with Jean Claude Van Damme, you will be surprised. This movie has really good reviews around the world ;-)
You're a sad panda indeed. I hope you grew up since this comment.
share