13-05-2009

Box office free fall for Turkish films

By Deniz Ziya Temeltas
    Other then a re-release of Revolution Cars, Turkish box office looked bleak for local products, including pricey Butterfly, as the Turkish film season draws to a close.
    One bright spot was Mahzun Kirmizgul's I Saw the Sun, which reached 2.4 million admissions in its eighth week.

    Although Butterfly has underperformed in Turkey, with just 13,000 admissions, the film is expected to draw larger audiences in the Arab world due to its content, in a post-Taliban Afghan setting, with over $300,000 reportedly offered for all rights. The film also signals the recent activity in the middle east in co-productions due to the success of Turkish series on middle east satellite channel MBC (Middle East Broadcasting Corporation) and elsewhere.

    Another Turkish release coming in just before the end of the season, The Master, also had a disappointing weekend, with around 35,000 admissions, compared with top-performer X-Men with 85,000 admissions.

    Published in Turkey
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