FLX launches Felix Herngren’s Day by Day straight to CMore

Day by Day (Dag för dag) was originally set to bring the Felix Herngren magic touch to Swedish cinemas, as the film is a typical feelgood movie, with a strong ensemble cast reuniting Marianne Mörck, Tomas von Brömssen, William Spetz, Martina Haag, Felix Herngren, Peter Magnusson and the late Sven Wollter in his last screen appearance.

The heartfelt comedy drama follows five characters on a RV journey from Sweden to Switzerland, as they come together to fulfil an elderly man’s last wish. Along the way, cross-generational friendships blossom, an autumn romance awakens and life-changing decisions are made.

For the record, Herngren broke twice the magic 1 million admissions, first with The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared with 1.5 million between 2013/14, then with Solsidan-The Movie in 2017/2018.

Originally set to open late 2021 via SF Studios, Day by Day was delayed to March 3, 2022 due to Covid-19 restrictions in Sweden, and was meant to benefit from the half price promotional tool Biopasset. Removed again from its slot in February, the film will now go straight to VOD via C More, which is planning to launch it March 31^st.

“Finally, Day by Day is coming out, after almost a two year-wait!” said Herngren. “It may actually have a higher relevance today, as it is very much about life’s big questions. C More will give it the conditions to reach a wide audience and be available to the largest audience, which I’m very happy about,” said the director.

Fredrik Warstedt, EVP Acquisitions & Licensing at SF Studios said: “We are, together with the other co-producers of the film [Film I Väst, C More] happy that the film will finally reach its audience. The premiere has been postponed twice and we know that the audience has been looking forward to seeing it.”

Commenting on the state of the Swedish theatrical market, Warstedt said it hasn’t yet picked up after the pandemic, with local films being most affected: “The overall audience numbers are still down somewhat compared to the pre-pandemic figures, and we see that audiences for local films are slightly slower to return to the cinemas compared to audiences for US blockbusters. We expect this to even-out, as we get back to a more normal society without restrictions,” he said.

Helena Simonsson, Head of Distribution and Screening at the Swedish Film Institute concurred with him. “The Swedish cinema market is still under pressure after two years with the Covid-19 pandemic. The audience has not returned to the cinemas to the same extent as before, and the Swedish cinema market has not recovered. In that perspective we understand that [Day by Day] rights-holders make the decisions that are best for their film,” she said.

Offering a more nuanced comment, Peter Fornstam, Head of the Swedish Cinema Association and of the cinema chain Svenska Bio said that “elderly people in particular are slightly slower to return to cinemas, but they will!" he claimed.

He also regretted the decision from Day by Day’s rights holders to skip the theatrical window. “I don’t think the movie would have been huge, but solid. First and foremost, it’s the last movie of Sven Wollter before he passed away. I think it is very sad to see the movie drown on streaming rather than getting a big screen farewell. I’m sure he [Wollter] would have disagreed on this decision,” said Fornstam who added: "It’s sad for this movie [to go straight to VOD], but cinemas will survive on movies like The Batman, Morbius etc,” he asserted.

FLX's Comedy Queen
Meanwhile another FLX film, the Crystal Bear winning film Comedy Queen by Sanna Lenken which opened February 11, simultaneously to its Berlin world premiere, is actually experiencing the tough market conditions for local fare. So far only 8,647 people have seen it in Swedish cinemas. “Even if the film was very well received in the media, the figures, sadly enough, haven’t been as overwhelming as the reviews,” lamented FLX producer Rebecka Lafrenz who also mentions Swedish audience’s hesitation after Covid to go back to the cinemas.

Last year, cinema attendance in Sweden continued to be affected by Covid-related restrictions as total admissions at 6 million dropped 62% compared to 2019.

Swedish films reached a record low 759,551 admissions, down 63% from 2019 (2.1 million) and down 50% from 2020 (1.5 million). According to the Swedish Film Institute, 49 new Swedish films premiered in 2021, but only 36 in cinemas.