Locals Love This

When a local film beats out the big American blockbuster, if only for a week, it is positive proof that the local film industry is doing something right for its own bottom line. Congratulations! I wonder if the films will travel...they say comedy is too local to travel sell...but, is there music?

In Quebec July 14 Father And Guns outdraws Bruno in Quebec (De Père En Flic) was the top film at the province’s box office over the weekend, earning an astounding $1.6m (C$1.8m). The sum was more than the combined grosses of the four other top five titles: Brüno, Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs, Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen and Public Enemies.

In Japan July 14 the big screen TV adaptation Gokusen: The Movie earned $5.27m (Y489.5m) from 402,440 admissions on its opening weekend in Japan, beating out Hollywood newcomers Knowing and Monsters Vs. Aliens.

In Spain, gross-out comedy Fuga de cerebros was the bestselling local pic so far in 2009, with 1.1 million admissions." Their entire box office figures are up for the first time in five years. I wonder if this local film beat out any U.S. films playing at the same time and if it did, which were they and how long did the winning streak for local box office continue?

In Korea box office is also finally up again and Korean films are playing strong with a record $375.7 million in the first half of 2009, according to a report by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).
Star Kim Yoon-suk's comedy Running Turtle has held in second place in its fourth weekend, cuming $13 million. U.S. films took 45% of the market, with local films close behind at 44.7%. Seven local films ranked in the top 10, including "My Girlfriend Is an Agent" at No. 2 ($20.78 million), "Scandal Makers" at No. 3 ($19.88 million), "A Frozen Flower" at No. 5 ($17.72 million), "Mother" at No. 6 ($15.46 million), "Old Partner" at No. 7 ($15 million), "Thirst" at No. 9 ($11.73 million) and "Running Turtle" at No.10 ($10.76 million)

In terms of the distributor rankings, CJ Entertainment topped the list with a 25% market share from "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" "Mother" and "Thirst," among others.
Lotte Entertainment came second for the first time, with a 20.4% market share due to "Terminator Salvation" "My Girlfriend Is an Agent" and "Scandal Makers."
Showbox Mediaplex ranked third with a 15% market share from "A Frozen Flower" "Red Cliff Part 2" and "Running Turtle."

In Brazil June 23 Brazilian romantic comedy A Mulher Invisível beats Terminator into second place in Brazil .