The Brats and Serial Teachers invade the theatres

by Fabien Lemercier

17/04/2013 - Operators massively bet on two French comedies. Vast launch campaign as well for the Spanish animated film Tad, the Lost Explorer

In a market where theatres are constantly searching for magnetic attractions, and as they face increasingly unpredictable spectators, comedy remains a systematic safe bet for French cinema operators. This is an understandable strategy, albeit not always successful, and its major disadvantage remains that it limits to a bare minimum the access to theatres to films which do not target a family audience. In place for several years now, this system of double speed releases is magnified by an acute Darwinism caused by too many releases competing against each other every week (17 this Wednesday). The result is that the wheel of fortune of big successes is turning at a higher speed with the flip side showing the very real possibility of huge failures, while the success of films with modest box-office ambitions is even more unpredictable.

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This Wednesday perfectly illustrates this phenomenon with its 17 new releases, including two widely distributed French comedies: The Brats [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Anthony Marciano (review - Gaumont in 617 cinemas) with Alain Chabat, whose presence always vouches for the quality of the humour, and Serial Teachers [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Pierre-François Martin-Laval (UGC Distribution in 624 cinemas), a Films du 24 production in which the worst high school in France witnesses the arrival of the worst teachers of the National Education board.

The third massive release of the week is orchestrated by StudioCanal, which launches the Spanish animated film Tad, the Lost Explorer [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Enrique Gato (news) in 467 theatres.

On a completely different scale, the non-national European production offers an interesting selection with the trangressive film Clip [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maja Milos
film profile] by Serbian director Maja Milos (winner last year in Rotterdam - KMBO on 9 screens), the convincing What Richard Did [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Irish director Lenny Abrahamson (review - ZED in 15 theatres), the animated film Black to the Moon 3D [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Francis Nielsen (a coproduction associating Spain, France, Belgium and Italy – read the interview of the producer François Cohen-Séat – distribution Art’Mell and Zootrope on 80 screens) and the Franco-Belgian feature film Headfirst [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Amélie van Elmbt (review - Héliotrope Films in nine cinemas).

It is also worth mentioning the release of the excellent La Playa D.C. [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Juan Andrés Arango Garcia, discovered at Un Certain Regard in Cannes and coproduced by the French company Ciné Sud Promotion France (Jour2Fête on 10 screens). Finally, four French coproductions complete this panorama with Les Lendemains [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Bénédicte Pagnot (article – Prize of the Public at the Festival Premiers Plans d’Angers – UFO Distribution on 18 screens), Le Voile brûlé [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Viviane Candas (article - Les Films à Fleur de Peau), Désordres [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Etienne Faure (RE-Distribution on five screens), the Japanese-inspired Slow Life by Christian Merlhiot (Pointligneplan in three theatres) and the documentary La Traversée by Elizabeth Leuvrey (Shellac in 10 cinemas).