19/12/2008

Dany Boon’s Welcome to the Sticks [+see also:
trailer
film profile] was this year’s major hit in France with staggering box office takings of over €120m for almost 20.5m admissions. The film has also achieved the seemingly impossible feat of winning over both German and Italian audiences and this success is all the more commendable given that comedy remains a difficult genre to export.

Launched in Germany on October 30 by Kinowelt on a 160-print run, Welcome to the Sticks is now showing on 313 screens and once again claimed seventh place at the box office last week end. After seven weeks on release, the film has garnered almost €5.54m in box office takings and audience figures have been boosted by excellent word-of-mouth publicity.

In Italy, the feature – distributed by Medusa – has amassed €2.95m in earnings in seven weeks. In Belgium – where the title was released by Alternative – the final figure was around €7.4m.

Pathé, on the other hand, released the film in the UK in April on only one screen (a print-run later increased to five). The film will next be released In Spain (under the title Bienvenidos Al Norte), on January 16, 2009 by Wanda Visión.

Moreover, Pathé have signed several contracts for remakes, including a US version by Will Smith’s company and an Italian one by Medusa and Cattleya.

In France, Boon’s popularity is at its peak and his forthcoming film appearances are much-awaited. As of January 7, he will star alongside Sophie Marceau in Pascale Pouzadoux’s De l'autre côté du lit (“The Other Side of the Bed”) before he hits screens on February 18 in Danièle Thompson’s ensemble film Le Code a changé (“The Code Has Changed”).

In the second half of 2009, the actor will also grace screens in Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Micmacs à tire-larigot (“Playing Games to Your Heart’s Content”), a comedy about arms dealers that is about to finish shooting.

(Translated from French)