You have to return to 2023 to watch a movie with Kad Merad Caracole at the top of the box office. He is not so far, you say. But for the star of Choristers either Welcome to the Ch’tisAccustomed to the great popular successes and millions of admissions, it is disappointing. Far from their standards at least. The simple coincidence of the calendar or sign of a structural change in demand?
In the last two years, the actor has been playing six feature films, but none has managed to exceed 250,000 admissions. The latest, Papamóvil From Sylvain Estibal released on August 13, it was a real failure, with 372 tickets since its inception according to its distributor, The Jokers Films.
The comedy was even the web’s laughter, the Jakers films had decided to limit the break as much as possible by programming it only in seven rooms. An excursion, called “technique”, which, however, is very rare for a feature film of this caliber, also carried by a famous actor. His producer Jean Bréhat judged him “lost”, while Kad Merad preferred to remain silent on the subject.
Disappointments
Without reaching such floors, the last films with Kad Merad have also had problems filling the rooms. Comedy 100 million! Of Nath Dumont, with Michèle Laroque, limited to 173,000 admissions, while fiction was launched last March in more than 400 copies, according to CBO.
Christmas balls D’A Alexandra Leclère, however, distributed by Sony last December, attracted only 160,000 spectators in theaters, while Comedy The Larbin D’A Alexandre Charlot and Franck Magnier, with Clovis Cornillac and Isabelle Carré, won only 232,000 in almost 500 copies in July 2024.
And even when Kad Merad moves away from the popular French comedy record, tickets are not frankly there. The last breath from Costa-Gavras, with Denis Podalydès, and Eventually By Claude Lelouch, with Elsa Zylberstein, Michel Boujenah, Sandrine Bonnaire and Barbara Pravi, launched respectively in February and last November, stagnated in about 132,000 admissions.
For Eric Marti, managing director of Comscore films, these recent box office results are especially the reflection of conventional professional phenomena, with excavation effects to breathe, navigate and then use.
“In the same model as Franck Dubosc, Kad Merad recently tested a new record, a little more dramatic, analyzes. But it is very recently, after several attempts, than the star of Camping has returned to success in this new repertoire, with A bear in the Jura Launched at the beginning of the year. It will probably be the same for Kad Merad. “
Entrance machine in the 2000s
The 61 -year -old actor was a safe bet for the seventh hexagonal art industry until a few months ago. It is one of those rare actors whose only name is enough to make a film and attract viewers to cinemas. Real life Dany Boon totaled more than 812,000 admissions in April 2023, by the way, the worst starts in 17 years for a Dany Boon movie, and The Dudou By Julien Hervé and Philippe Mechelen won 400,000 in 2018.
And we no longer count their feature films that, a few years ago, easily exceeded the millions of spectators, such asAlibi.com by Philippe Lacheau (3.6 million admissions in 2017), Bis By Dominique Farrugia (1.5 million admissions in 2015), Little Nicolas Holidays De Laurent Tirard (2.5 million admissions in 2014), Supercondriac by Dany Boon (5.3 million admissions in 2014) or Little Nicolás for Laurent Tirard (5.7 million admissions in 2009).
Not to mention that if we see each other even more in the rearview mirror, phenomenal 20 million admissions of Welcome to the Ch’tis By Dany Boon in 2008 (better result for a tricolor film at the national box office), nor of the more than 8 million admissions of Choristers By Christophe Barratier in 2004.
Difficulty breathing
Eric Marti sees it as the sign of the lack of breath of a certain type of popular French comedies: those who work in formulas already seen, with an already seen scenario and actors already seen.
“Since the COVVI-19 and the emergence of the platforms, which offer a profusion of content to see, the practices of the spectators have changed, he observes. They think twice before buying a ticket, they do not go to the cinema to see the things they have already seen.”
Therefore, the spectators favor, according to him, the comedies that are surprised, take a step aside, intertwine different records, dare to more dramatic issues or treatments, as evidenced by the recent successes ofA small extra thing (11 million admissions), A bear in the Jura (1.5 million tickets), My mother, God and sylvie vary (1.5 million tickets), Fanfare (2.6 million admissions) or Twenty gods (954,000 admissions).
“It is no longer pure comedies that are a success today, but those gentle, authentic, sincere, fun,” he continues. And to add: “Even the Lacheau or the Tuche, which had taken the next generation of Dany Boon, Kad Merad and Franck Dubosc for a while, begin to run out of steam.” Fashion, an eternal beginning (re).
Source: BFM TV
