03/09/2014 - Métamorphoses, Hippocrates and Now or Never burn bright among the new releases, while Winter Sleep weaves its web at the box office

While the CNC has published a study underlining the positive impact that the “4 euros for the under-14s” initiative has had on young audiences’ attendance levels in French cinemas since the start of 2014, this Wednesday’s releases once again highlight the diversity and quality of French films.

Indeed, Le Pacte is releasing Thomas Lilti’s Hippocrates [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Thomas Lilti
film profile] across 228 screens, a clever comedy about public hospitals that was popular as the closing film of the Critics’ Week at the 67th Cannes Festival (read the review and the interview with the director) and was victorious recently at the Angoulême Festival.

For its part, Sophie Dulac Distribution is releasing Christophe Honoré’s daring modern adaptation of Ovid, Métamorphoses [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christophe Honoré
film profile], which has just had its world premiere at Venice Days (read the review and watch the video interview with the director), in 59 theatres (including 14 in Paris). 

Also hitting screens is Now or Never [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Serge Frydman (read the article), starring Leila Bekhti as a mother who is forced to rob banks in order to guarantee her family’s survival in this time of crisis (Mars Distribution in 167 cinemas).

Also of note is Boys Like Us [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Patric Chiha (read the article - Epicentre Films across 18 screens), Irina, la mallette rouge [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Bernard Mazauric (distributed by Floris Films) and Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Anup Singh, co-produced by Paris-based outfit Ciné-Sud Promotion (read the news) together with Germany, India and the Netherlands (Zootrope Films in 13 theatres).

As for the box office, the French blockbuster Lucy [+see also:
trailer
making of
film profile] by Luc Besson has so far taken 4.2 million admissions over four weeks (EuropaCorp Distribution in 615 cinemas), which means that it is already clocking in at third place in the annual charts, while Love at First Fight [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Thomas Cailley
film profile] by Thomas Cailley has got off to a very promising start (taking 207,000 admissions over 12 days - Haut et Court Distribution across 162 screens).

As regards distribution strategies, it is interesting to note the ramping up of the run for the Cannes Palme d’Or winner Winter Sleep [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
film profile] by Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, which has already enticed over 220,000 viewers. Brought out on 6 August in 146 cinemas courtesy of Memento Films Distribution, the feature film (whose 3-hour-16-minute running time restricts the daily number of screenings) has gradually expanded its run (186 theatres in its second week, 191 in its third and 340 as of today) and is displaying a remarkable level of stamina, only losing a very small number of viewers from one week to the next. For the record, Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s previous film, Once upon a Time in Anatolia [+see also:
trailer
film profile], ended its run after having taken 150,000 admissions, which had been the filmmaker’s most impressive performance in France until Winter Sleep, which Memento now fully intends to push up to at least 400,000 tickets. Such a result would surpass the performances of a good number of past Palme d'Or winners, such as 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cristian Mungiu
interview: Oleg Mutu
film profile], which took 320,000 admissions; Man of Iron, which reached 370,000; and even The Child [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Luc & Jean-Pierre Dardenne
film profile], with its 385,000 tickets sold.

(Translated from French)