Last weekend the Danish WW2 drama Hvidstengruppen and Icelandic gangster film Black's Game went straight to number one with record opening figures in their home territories. In Finland, a trio of local films led by Ricky Rapper and Cool Wendy took the top positions and in Norway the Dragon Award winner Company Orheim opened at Number 2. Meanwhile in Sweden the fans of actor/scriptwriter Peter Magnusson continue to pour into cinemas to view his romantic adventures in Phuket.
In Denmark, the WW2 resistance drama Hvidstengruppen released by UIP/RG was hailed by local film reviewers and sold over 100,000 tickets (including previews) to make it the second best local opener after Clown-The Movie since the opening day was moved from Friday to Thursday in 2010. The debut film by Anne-Grethe Bjarup was produced by Regner Grasten.
Another Danish film, the franchise kid's movie My Sister's Kis-Home Alone dropped from number two to seven in its fifth week. Total admissions for the FC/All Right Film release have passed 267,000. The Swedish Jan Guillou adaptation Hamilton-In the Interest of the Nation also lost a few seats, dropping from fifth to eighth place in its second weekend. Total admissions from 64 screens for the Buena Vista release are just above 31,000.
In Finland three film offerings targeting different age groups dominated the local Top Ten. Kinotar's franchise family film Ricky Rapper and Cool Wendy kept its top position and total admissions for the Nordisk Film release are 213,731 after four weeks.
The Finnish western Once Upon a Time in the North by JP Siili also didn't move from its second place. Total admissions for the Finnkino release are nearing 93,000 admissions in three weeks. Bronson Club's buddy movie Fanatics, the graduation film by Teppo Airaksinen, climbed from fourth to third place, pushing total admissions to 28,627 for Nordisk Film. In its fifth week, Aku Louhimies's Naked Harbour still ranked number seven and total admissions for Disney are nearing 77,000. Saara Cantell's well-crafted family saga Stars Above which competed for a Golden Dragon in Gothenburg opened at number 13 for Nordisk Film.
In Iceland, Oskar Thor Axelsson's gangster thriller Black's Game under Sena's banner received very good reviews (4 stars across the board) and went straight to number one for its opening weekend. Producer Thor Sigurjonsson (ZikZak Filmworks) said the film had 8,200 admissions, making it the third highest opener for an Icelandic film and the highest opener for a film with a 16 age restriction. (See Oskar Thor Axelsson's interview in the news section).
Meanwhile Baltasar Kormákur's Hollywood film Contraband got closer to 30,000 admissions after seven weeks for Myndform.
In Norway, Company Orheim, the third Motlys film based on Jarl Klepp's character opened at number two after UIP's animation film Puss in Boots. Carried by good reviews and a strong campaign from Norsk Filmdistribusjon, the film sold nearly 19,000 tickets from 107 screens. Hamilton In the Interest of the Nation opened at number four for Walt Disney, selling around 8,900 tickets from 66 screens. Another new Nordic film, the Danish documentary The Ambassador released in 35 screens by Kudos Family opened at number 15. Reviewers from leading newspapers gave it five stars.
In Sweden the local romantic comedy Once Upon a Time in Phuket kept its second place in its fifth weekend and had the second best screen average after the UIP opener Devil Inside. The Peter Magnusson vehicle produced by Stella Nova film sold another 23,367 tickets, pushing total figures up to 322,298 from 99 screens. The crime film Nobel's Last Will based on Liza Marklund's best-seller opened at number five for Nordisk Film, selling over 14,000 tickets from 75 screens. As for Hamilton-In the Interest of the Nation, it has now passed 500,000 admissions at home for Walt Disney.
Sources: FAFID, Filmweb.no, Filmägarnas kontrollbyrå, Filmikamari, SMAIS