Slovak filmmaker Tereza Nvotová continues her strong run with her latest drama, Father [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Tereza Nvotová
scheda film]. Following its world premiere in the Orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival, the film went on to win the top prize at the recent Zurich Film Festival (see the news) and has been shortlisted among the best European titles for the 38th European Film Awards (see the news). After its Venice debut, Father was released in Slovak cinemas, shortly after being selected by the Slovak Film and Television Academy as the country’s submission for the Academy Awards (see the news). The movie quickly rose to the number-one spot at the domestic box office and continues to perform strongly, having remained in the top position for five consecutive weeks since its premiere. So far, it has taken 97,570 admissions and generated €720,739 in box-office revenues.

Father explores the aftermath of a tragic incident in which a parent forgets their child in a car on a hot day, leading to deadly consequences. Inspired by a real event that occurred in Slovakia in 2015, the film’s subject and formalistic treatment have resonated with domestic audiences. Such sustained success is uncommon for a Slovak arthouse drama, as domestic box-office charts are typically dominated by local genre productions.

The first half of 2025 has been marked by the success of the crime film Černák (see the news), the sequel to Miki, which attracted audiences in 2024 (see the news). Černák outperformed several major Hollywood releases at the Slovak box office, including titles aimed primarily at younger audiences such as A Minecraft Movie, Lilo & Stitch, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Moana 2, all of which make up the top five for the first half of 2025. The summer season was dominated by Peter Bebjak’s musical biopic Duchoň [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], which premiered at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The film portrays a popular Slovak crooner who lived fast and died young, using a retro-nostalgic approach built around his songs. As expected, the feature quickly rose to the top of the box office and continues to draw in audiences. After 11 weeks in cinemas, Bebjak’s film has recorded 259,858 admissions and earned €1,928,590.

With several domestic premieres scheduled for the autumn season, it appears unlikely that Černák’s box-office benchmark will be surpassed. Among the upcoming titles expected to attract local audiences is Gregor Valentovič’s biopic Nepela, centred on Czechoslovak figure skater Ondrej Nepela (see the news). Other releases include Pavel Jandourek’s family film Sugar Candy, a Czech-Slovak co-production; the animated family feature Tales from the Magic Garden [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by a collective of directors comprising David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar and Jean-Claude Rozec, which premiered at the Berlinale and which is also shortlisted for the 38th European Film Awards; and a new instalment in Katarína Kerekesová’s animated film series about a family of spiders, The Websters. The latter was first released in the Czech Republic, where it reached eighth position in its opening week.

Overall, 2025 has proven to be a strong year for domestic productions in Slovak cinemas, reflecting the continued interest of local audiences in home-grown films.