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BOX OFFICE Denmark

Danish films dominate the 2018 local box office

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- Three local productions have attracted large crowds while The Purity of Vengeance becomes the most successful Danish film ever

Danish films dominate the 2018 local box office
The Purity of Vengeance by Christoffer Boe

Danish films had an impressive run in the country’s box office this year as three local productions: The Purity of Vengeance [+see also:
trailer
interview: Elliott Crosset Hove
film profile
]
, The Way to Mandalay [+see also:
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film profile
]
and A Fortunate Man [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bille August
film profile
]
became the most watched films of the year. In total, local productions attracted more than 3 million viewers for the first time since 2015 and ensuring that the Danish film market received a market share of 28%, a significant increase compared to the 21 and 20% of the previous two years respectively. Most impressively however, The Purity of Vengeance became the highest grossing Danish film of all time.

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We previously reported on the record-breaking opening for The Purity of Vengeance, the fourth and final instalment in the “Department Q” franchise, directed by Christoffer Boe (read news). The Nordic-noir film adaptation of Jussi Adler-Olsen's crime novel follows the latest investigation by the Department Q duo. Criminal Commissioner Carl Mørck (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) and his assistant Assad (Fares Fares) earned the film a gross income of over DKK72.5 million (€9.7 million), overtaking the previous release in the series, The Absent One [+see also:
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film profile
]
, by just over DKK 4 million (€600,000). The film succeeded in maintaining the momentum of the franchise and since its release in early October has attracted more than 760,000 viewers, becoming not only the most watched film of the year but also the most successful Danish film of all time.

The remaining top 5 best grossing Danish films include two other Department Q films and one by Mikkel Nørgaard - Klown [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, which sits in third place, and A Conspiracy of Faith [+see also:
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film profile
]
and The Keeper of Lost Causes [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Eugenio Mira
film profile
]
, which follow in fourth and fifth place respectively. It’s also worth noting that all five films were produced by the Danish film company Zentropa. Moreover, despite just being released, The Purity of Vengeance is currently just one spot off entering the top 10 grossing films in Denmark, a list that includes films produced inside and outside of Denmark.

Second place in the 2018 Danish Box Office was claimed by The Way to Mandalay, which had its world premiere earlier this year at the Göteborg International Film Festival. This biopic on the legendary Danish cult singer John Mogensen was written and directed by Ole Bornedal. Rasmus Bjerg's portrayal of this popular singer-songwriter has attracted almost 410,000 viewers since March. Third place was claimed by one of Denmark’s literary landmarks, A Fortunate Man, which was adapted into a film by the acclaimed director Bille August. Starring Esben Smed, the film brought in just under 400,000 admissions since its release at the end August.

Paprika Steen’s Christmas comedy That Time of Year [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
just entered the top 10 this month; the film is approaching 300,000 admissions and is aiming for an expected increase during the holiday period.  Finally, Martin Miehe-Renard‘s local family comedy Father of Four - On the Sunny Side!, has been the fifth most successful Danish film of the year with slightly over 250,000 admissions.

It’s worth noting that four films that were supported by Danish Film Institute’s New Danish Screen programme have been released in local cinemas with Christian Tafdrup’s A Horrible Woman [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
reaching 155,000 admissions and Denmark’s shortlisted submission to the Oscars (news), Gustav Möller’s debut The Guilty [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gustav Möller
film profile
]
attracting over 140,000 viewers.

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