Polish films ride high

by Dorota Hartwich

05/03/2007 - Domestic titles have been hogging the top spots at the Polish box office for the past six weeks, even outdoing US blockbusters such as Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto (dist. Monolith, 118 copies) and Shawn Levy’s Night at the Museum (dist. Cinepix, 90 prints).

Stanisław Tym’s Ryś – the sequel to the 1970s and 1990s cult comedies – has taken number one position in the Top 10 since it opened on February 9 (see news), clocking up close to 685,451 admissions on 120 screens (Forum Film Poland).

Despite a significant drop in admissions, Jarosław Sypniewski and Jacek Filipiak’s Crown Witness [trailer], released on February 2, is also in a good position. The action film, released through ITI Cinema on 81 screens, has attracted 886,512 filmgoers. However, its box office results could suffer a blow with the film’s VoD release through private broadcaster TVN a few days ago.

After six weeks in cinemas, Ryszard Zatorski’s new film Dlaczego nie! [trailer] (lit. “Why Not!”, Studio InterFilm, 115 prints), has reached the million admissions mark. Two other romantic comedies were big hits in 2006: Zatorski’s Tylko mnie kochaj (lit. “But You Have to Love Me”) and Denis Delić’s Ja wam pokażę! (lit. “You’ll See That”).

The biggest disappointment is Volker Schlöndorff’s recently released German/Polish co-production Strike (Best Film, 25 screens), which – following the controversy it triggered in Poland (see news) – managed to charm only a meagre 1,285 cinemagoers in its opening weekend.

(Translated from French)