"Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis"
"Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis Trailer" First Look
"Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis" - In French Theaters February 20, 2008
In
U.S. Theaters TBD 2008
"Ch'tis" -
"Ch'tis," the nickname for the uncouth locals, and one of the best French movies of the current decade, and century, scored $5.7 million in a smallish first-week, exclusively in France, followed by a stunning $34.1 million as it expanded during its second weekend of release in France. Its third weekend in French movie theaters
"Ch'tis" finished with a boffo $25.2 million at the movie box office at 793 French locations. It goes without saying that in France, alone,
"Ch'tis" will take in over $100 million.
Wild About Movies knows not why this movie has not already been bought by a U.S. studio, for distribution in the United States. Sony Classics? Hello??? (Tom Bernard, of Sony Classics. Remember? You released Claude Berri's movies of the 1980s,
"Jean De Florette" and
"Manon of the Spring" to spectacular movie box office success).
The movie
"Ch'tis," (which, even with its astronomical French movie box office performace, still does not have a U.S. release date penciled in), focuses on the people who live in north France, making fun of the region's unflattering stereotypes to reveal the warmth of the people. A post office manager, Phippe, in Provence is punished when his superiors reassign him north. When he hears that "north" does not mean Lyons or even Paris, he despairs. Colleagues tell him of a freezing dark place where it rains all year, people live in red-brick terrace houses and dunk Maroilles cheese in their coffee. When he arrives in Bergues, his car collides with Antoine Bailleul, a postman and carillon ringer in the town belfry. He believes that Antoine has a fractured jaw, but it is just his accent. The outsider, of course, finds that the Ch'timi have hearts of gold and are friendly to strangers, unlike Parisians or southerners.
Of note, Claude Berri produced
"Ch'tis." If you're Wild About Movies, you'll know that Claude Berri wrote (for the screen), produced and directed the best French movie of the 1980s,
"Jean De Florette" (and its second part,
"Manon of the Spring"), both of which starred Yves Montand and Daniel Auteuil. (Do yourself a huge favor, especially if you have a large, flat screen TV, and rent
"Jean De Florette" and "Manon of the Spring" on Netflix. The movie, in two parts, is nearly four hours. But it will be the best four hours you spend in front of your television, we guarantee).
STARRING: Dany Boon, Kad Merad, Zoé Félix
DIRECTOR: Dany Boon
STUDIO: Pathé Distribution
RATING: R (Language, sexual situations)
THEATER COUNT (Opening Weekend): TBD
RUNNING TIME: 106 minutes
TOTAL DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE: TBD
U.S. DVD RELEASE DATE: TBD
LANGUAGE: French
"Ch'tis" MOVIE SHOWTIMES
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Evening and Weekend Shows
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Wild About Movies Grade: A+
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