Launched December 1^st globally on Netflix, the epic action-adventure film still dominated the streaming giant’s film chart December 5, according to Flixpatrol, topping the Netflix film charts in nearly 80 territories including the Nordics, Germany, Italy, the UK, Morocco and New Zealand.

The VFX-driven title based on a script by Espen Aukan (Viking Wolf) also received an impressive 85% score on the reviewer aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with Norwegian reviewers such as NRK P3 giving it a 5 star.

Behind Troll’s success is a team of highly skilled Norwegian and Scandinavian creators, familiar with large scale entertainment: genre-oriented director Roar Uthaug (The Wave, Tom Raider) and Oslo-based production powerhouse Motion Blur, attached to the local box office hits The 12^th Man and Amundsen.

The epic adventure is the third collaboration between SF Studios' partly-owned Motion Blur and Netflix, after Cadaver - the US streamer’s first Norwegian original feature - and the series Post Mortem.

Commenting on Troll’s top ranking on Netflix, producers Espen Horn and Kristian Strand Sinkerud told nordicfilmandtvnews.com: “This has never happened before with a Norwegian movie, and we’re so incredibly proud.“

Reflecting on the film’s global imprint, Motion Blur’s CEO Horn said: “A lot of people around the world are familiar with trolls from Scandinavian folklore, but what makes this movie truly engaging is the fact that the troll isn’t a clumsy stupid piece of meat, but a large loving creature which has memories, feelings, and an ability to connect with the characters in the film and with audiences.”

In the story set in contemporary Norway, an ancient giant troll awakens in the mountain of Dovre, following an explosion. To try to stop the creature from creating havoc, a group of experts get together: the fearless palaeontologist Nora (Ine Marie Wilmann) and her father (Gard B. Eidsvold), a former professor in folklore research, the Prime Minister’s advisor Andreas (Kim Falck) and army man Kristoffer (Mads Sjøgård Pettersen).

But the film’s biggest assets is the creature itself - designed by Norwegian artist Einar Martinsen - and top of the range VFX works, fully conceived in Scandinavia. “It was essential for us to make the movie a true Scandinavian production, using the Norwegian scenery as a character. We therefore worked with various vendors who would best understand the Norse mythology and DNA of the troll,” said Horn who hired among others Gimpville in Norway and Ghost in Denmark for the biggest bulk of VFX.

The production was fully-financed by Netflix, although the film had originally received support from the Norwegian Film Institute. “Yes it was originally planned to be financed within the traditional public support model, Horn explains, “but when Netflix came on board, they totally bought into Roar’s and our vision for the film and we were able to fulfil that vision thanks to their resources. From a filmmaker’s perspective, to have the world as one market and access to Netflix’s marketing power is a fantastic experience.“

Top Scandinavian behind the scenes attached to the film include Swedish cinematographer Jallo Faber (Pioneer, Gentlemen) who also served as second unit DoP on Spectre and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, music composer Johannes Ringen (Norsemen, The North Sea, Born2Drive) and production designer Koja (Betrayed, Forgotten Christmas).