10/02/2016 - Produced by Eskwad and distributed by Pathé, Olivier Baroux’s comedy has made French exhibitors very happy at the start of the year

It’s what you call a film that works in the depths of the country – in other words, a film whose success stems from a very enthusiastic response in the provinces. Having kicked off by taking 1.5 million admissions in one week, the comedy The Tuche - The American Dream [+see also:
trailer
film profile] is proving a real godsend for French exhibitors, who from time to time need these unifying national comedies to maintain the bond between the general public and the experience of watching films in theatres. This is the case for the film by Olivier Baroux, whose initial results have exceeded all expectations, and which is now setting its sights on a run that looks set to notch up 4 million admissions. Starring Jean-Paul Rouve, Isabelle Nanty, Claire Nadeau, Sarah Stern, Pierre Lottin and Theo Fernandez, the comedy recounts the misfortunes of a zany and typically French family in the United States, who are fairly uncultured and often display as much poor taste as they do sweetness. A whole series of gags is grafted onto this baseline – jokes drawing on the fertile ground of cultural differences, among other sources, which have had an impressive number of critics in fits of laughter, including the most serious, even if certain reviewers have obviously demonstrated an almost complete aversion to this brand of unpretentious humour. Produced by Richard Grandpierre for Eskwad, The Tuche – The American Dream was co-produced by TF1 Films Production, Jouror Productions, Prod Par 4 Ciné and Pathé (which launched the film in 603 French theatres and is selling it overseas), and was also pre-purchased by Canal+, Ciné+ and TMC.

Another French feature follows in second place in the weekly chart: Chocolat [+see also:
trailer
making of
film profile] by Roschdy Zem (which has taken 604,000 viewers in seven days – distributed by Gaumont in 525 theatres). Also of note is the documentary Seasons [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud, which stands at 520,000 admissions in 12 days (launched by Pathé Distribution across 497 screens).

These titles will now attempt to keep up their cruising speed on the cinema listings, where an immense number of new releases (18!) are jostling for space today, including several very varied and high-quality films such as Agnus Dei [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lou de Laâge
film profile] by Anne Fontaine (popular at the Sundance Film Festival, and which has just been acquired for the United States by Music Box Films – Mars Distribution), the Cannes-awarded The Treasure [+see also:
film review
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interview: Corneliu Porumboiu
interview: Corneliu Porumboiu
film profile] by Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu (Le Pacte), Parisienne [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Danielle Arbid (which was screened at the Toronto Film Festival and won the Best Actress Award at Les Arcs – Ad Vitam Distribution), Peace to Us in Our Dreams [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sharunas Bartas
film profile] by Lithuania’s Sharunas Bartas (Norte Distribution), A Uma Hora Incerta [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Portuguese filmmaker Carlos Saboga (Alfama Films), Heidi [+see also:
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making of
film profile] by Swiss director Alain Gsponer (StudioCanal) and the Argentinian-Spanish co-production The Clan [+see also:
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film profile] by Pablo Trapero (Diaphana Distribution).

In January, France’s movie theatres recorded 16.58 million admissions, a score that has fallen very slightly by -1.1% compared to the same month in 2015, according to the CNC’s estimates. The market share of French films stood at 38.7%, as against 53.1% for US productions (thanks especially to Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and 9.9% for features hailing from other countries. More broadly, admissions in France were estimated at 205.78 million over the last 12 months.

(Translated from French)