Last weekend, Norsk Filmdistribusjon’s family movie Two Buddies and a Badger 2-The Great Big Beast (Knutsen & Ludvigsen 2-Det Store Dyret) raced to the top of the charts and attracted more than half the people who went to the cinemas, with 43,408 admissions from 176 screens.

In comparison, the blockbusters 1917 and Tenet opened respectively with 38,457 and 32,955 admissions.

Most remarkably, the second instalment in the Knutsen & Ludvigsen film series had a stronger opening than the first film which opened with 41,603 admissions in September 2015, although five years ago, Norwegian cinemas had three times more screen capacity than today, under covid-19, according to Filmweb.no.

Figures are expected to climb steadily with this week’s school holiday in Norway, and the larger number of cinemas that have booked the film after last weekend’s sold out screenings.

Two Buddies and a Badger 2 is based again on the popular songs and universe of Norwegian troubadour duo Øystein Dolmen and Gustav Lorentzen alias Knutsen & Ludvigsen. Producer Ingunn Sundelin noted that adults are watching the film -even without kids - and laughing out loud, which proves its potential strong legs. Critics were also very positive across the board with 5 stars from 12 leading media outlets.

The joyful musical film co-directed by Rune Spaans and Gunhild Enger was produced by Tordenfilm, in association with the leading animation studio Qvisten Animation. Sola Media handles sales.

Other local films are enjoying a good theatrical run, despite the limited screen capacity. Diana’s Wedding by Charlotte Blom has sold 28,233 tickets after three weeks and dropped only 10% from the previous weekend. The Nordisk Film release was number four last weekend, just ahead of the multi-awarded documentary The Painter and the Thief by Benjamin Ree, which upped its numbers by 12% in its second weekend on screens via Euforia. So far nearly 10,000 Norwegians have seen it in the cinemas.  

Other local films set to lock in large audiences in the coming weeks include Børning 3 by Hallvard Bræin (with the premiere brought forward from December to October 14 by SF Studios), The Dragon Girl by Katarina Launing (30.10), Happy Christmas by Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken (30.10), Christmas at Cattle Hill by William Ashurst (6.11), the documentary Aksel by Even Sigstad and Filip Christensen (27.11) and the WW2 drama Betrayed by Eirik Svensson (25.12).

Meanwhile the Norwegian government’s recent decision to relax social distancing rules in cinemas should also bring much comfort to local exhibitors and distributors - that is if infection rates do not reverse the situation. From October 12, the maximum screen capacity will still be limited to 200, but the 2-meter distance between patrons - much criticised by exhibitors - will be replaced by one seat empty between viewers (from different households).