With "BAC Nord", which continues to shine in theaters since August 18, "Black box" is the French film of the moment: the feature film by Yann Gozlan, released on September 8, has just exceeded one million admissions, and again attracted 67,000 spectators between October 13 and 20 - almost unheard of. This thriller starring a technician (Pierre Niney) from the Bureau of Investigation and Analysis (BEA) responsible for shedding light on the crash of a Dubai-Paris flight by analyzing the black boxes, and who will suspect a conspiracy , benefits from exceptional public support, in a context where the health pass has nevertheless reduced attendance by 20%.
If some evoke a "surprise success", this is however not quite the case for its distributor, Studiocanal, which also managed the release of "BAC North". “Initially, before the pandemic, we had envisaged that the film could end its career with 800,000 admissions,” recalls Jean-Baptiste Davi, director of theatrical sales in France at Studiocanal. The onset of the epidemic and the health measures did not make him consider revising this figure down for two reasons: “First, the first very positive feedback from exhibitors who had seen the film, then those from spectators at the Festival. d'Angoulême this summer, which awarded the
Boîte Noire People's Choice
Award ”.
However, he admits that “the success of the film is more important than what we had expected.
"This is thanks to the strategy of the distributor, who made the bet of not releasing the film in October, in the midst of a bottling of feature films, but in September, a week before" Dune ".
Pierre Niney, "
bankable player
and safe
bet
for the public"
Jean-Baptiste Davi also attributes this card to the excellent spectator satisfaction rate, following “a very good first week with more than 292,000 admissions” and synonymous with very good word of mouth. The Observatory of Satisfaction, a research office which analyzes the reactions of the public at the exit of the rooms, recalls on Twitter that “Black Box” had obtained the score of 9, 1 out of 10 and thus won hands down the label # PlebisciteOfPublic. "Success calls for success: at the moment, it is THE film to see, adds the Studiocanal side.
Launched on 500 copies - 100 more than initially planned following the enthusiasm for the Angoulême festival - the thriller is still visible today in 250 theaters, a rarity in the seventh week of operation.
He even enjoys the luxury of seeing his attendance increase in certain rooms, such as this Wednesday in Paris at Gaumont Parnasse, and appeals to all age groups.
How far can the film go?
Its distributor, who slips in passing that the presence of Pierre Niney, “
bankable player
and safe
bet
for the public”, is not unrelated to its success, very reasonably envisages 1.1 million admissions.
We would rather bet on 1.2 million, which would make it for the moment the fourth most viewed French film of the year, if no other exceeds it by the end of December.