A Sequel Breaks All Film Records
The sequel to a classic Soviet melodrama has set a new record for the Russian box office, fueled by older viewers making their first trip to a movie theater in years.
“Irony of Fate: Continuation” grossed $48.5 million in the former Soviet Union in the first 23 days of its release, Maria Lein, a spokeswoman for Channel One television, which produced the film, said by telephone Tuesday.
Released Dec. 21 and still playing in theaters, the film could cross the $50 million mark, she said.
The previous record was held by the 2006 supernatural thriller “Day Watch,” which earned just under $35 million, trailed by last year’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” with $31.8 million.
The new box-office champion is a sequel to Eldar Ryazanov’s 1975 television film “Irony of Fate,” a story of love and mistaken identity that has become a holiday tradition, having been broadcast every New Year’s Eve since its premiere.
News that an “Irony of Fate” sequel was in the works provoked howls of protest from some fans of the original. But the film has apparently been given a strong boost from older viewers, according to a survey conducted by Channel One.
The survey found that about a third of the film’s viewers were visiting a movie theater for the first time in more than 15 years, Kommersant reported Tuesday.
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Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at 5:37 pm under