Anders Thomas Jensen’s latest feature, The Last Viking [+lee también:
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The comedy-drama, led by Mads Mikkelsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas, opened on 9 October through Nordisk Film Distribution. It has already surpassed the opening of Jensen’s previous success Riders of Justice [+lee también:
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According to Nordisk Film Distribution’s marketing director, Cille Kruuse Neumann, “We had high expectations, but this result completely exceeds anything we could have hoped for. Even competing against two important World Cup-qualifying football matches, the film has performed beyond expectations. It’s clear that the movie has become a cultural event that many Danes want to experience. We believe it will benefit from excellent word of mouth and continue to perform strongly in cinemas over the coming weeks, heading towards an exceptional box-office run.”

Written and directed by Jensen, The Last Viking premiered at the Venice Film Festival and went on to screen in the Centrepiece section of the Toronto International Film Festival. It is Jensen’s sixth directorial feature and follows Anker, a loner released after 15 years in prison for robbery, who teams up with his mentally impaired brother Manfred to recover hidden loot and confront their past.

Lie Kaas and Mikkelsen star as Anker and Manfred, respectively, and Sofie Gråbøl returns to Jensen’s films for the first time since Flickering Lights. The cast also includes regular collaborators such as Lars Brygmann, Bodil Jørgensen, Søren Malling, Nicolas Bro and Lars Ranthe, alongside newcomers such as Swedish actor Kardo Razzazi and drummer Peter Düring. With over two million tickets sold across his directorial features and more than six million for the films he has written, Jensen stands among the most successful Danish filmmakers of his generation.

The Last Viking was produced by Sisse Graum Jørgensen and Sidsel Hybschmann for Zentropa Entertainments, in co-production with Zentropa Sweden and Film i Väst, with support from the Danish Film Institute, FilmFyn, the Swedish Film Institute, the Nordisk Film & TV Fond, Eurimages and the Creative Europe – MEDIA programme. The film is released domestically by Nordisk Film Distribution, with international sales handled by TrustNordisk, in collaboration with TV 2 Denmark. The film has already been sold to 63 territories worldwide, including major markets such as the USA (through Samuel Goldwyn Films), Spain, Germany, Italy, the Benelux and Japan.