The Austrian box office has reached a new historic milestone, as the Christmas comedy Aufputzt is’ has surged to second place on the country’s all-time best admissions list. Produced by Florian Gebhardt and Dani Purer for Gebhardt Productions, a subsidiary of Beta Film, the feature has attracted 441,823 cinemagoers in just nine weeks of release, buoyed by strong ticket sales continuing well into January.

Directed by Claudia Jüptner-Jonstorff, the film sees Gery Seidl (also credited as a writer alongside Regine Anour and Robert Buchschwenter) in his first leading role on the big screen, portraying a stressed construction manager called Andi, who stumbles right into the holiday mayhem. “Between the mother-in-law, a badger, and customs troubles, the catastrophes keep piling up. A star-studded film full of heart, wit, and Viennese charm,” reads the official synopsis. Marlene Morreis as Steffi and Mia Plamberger as Alma round off the main cast.

The project, distributed nationwide by Filmladen Filmverleih, received backing from the Austrian Film Institute, the Vienna Film Fund, ORF and Land Niederösterreich.

Entering the all-time best list is a rare achievement in the Austrian market: for the first time in 22 years, there has been movement within the country’s top three box-office rankings. The performance of Aufputzt is’ not only confirms the enduring appeal of locally rooted comedy, but also underscores the continued ability of domestic productions to mobilise mass audiences beyond the traditional holiday window.