Biggest Foreign and Documentary Hits of the Year (Thus Far)
Sunday, September 6, 2015 at 12:04PM Since Labor Day Weekend is historically a lame box office weekend, it affords us a fine opportunity to look back at the year thus far rather than wait for box office results. Especially in terms of films that aren't usually spoken of in terms of box office. So let's look at two sets of baker's dozens: 2015'S FOREIGN LANGUAGE and DOCUMENTARY HITS.
*second* biggest-hits in Foreign & Documentary: "Baahubali: The Beginning" and "Amy"
How many have you seen?
SUBTITLED FILMS
Top Dozen of 2015 thus far
01 Bajrangi Bhaijaan (India) $8+
02 Baahubali: The Beginning (India) $6+
03 A La Mala (Mexico) $3+
04 Wild Tales (Argentina) $3+ Review
05 Dil Dhadakne Do (India) $3+
06 Tanu Weds Manu Returns (India) $3+
07 Clouds of Sils Maria* (France) $1+ Various Sils Maria Articles
08 Piku (India) $1+
09 Assassination (South Korea) $1+
10 Phoenix (Germany) $1+ Nina Hoss Interview
11 i (India) $1+
12 Timbuktu (Mauritania) $1+ Review, César Winners
13 Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem (Israel) $.9+ Review, Second Opinion
As we always see in the foreign charts in the past decade or so, Bollywood films continue to be solid imported hits without the benefit of any media attention whatsoever. That's what comes when you have distribution companies that cater to niche audiences and understand/market directly to them. This is surely what China Lion is attempting of late though they have yet to find as much regular support for Chinese language films. Aside from the Hindi language films, the top of the charts also painfully remind us that subtitled films have far teensier grosses even when they get breakout media attention than they once had. Wild Tales for example surely would have been at least a $13 million rather than a $3 million hit a decade ago. The chart also shows us that Oscar nominations help (see #4 and #12) but aren't necessary (see #10 and #13). 2015 hasn't yet had a breakout Oscar-headed hit like Ida from Poland last year (Phoenix was passed over for Oscar submission last year by Germany so it's been on its own without awards-buzz to find its audience. Happily, it's done just that). Sadly Sweden's sublime Oscar entry for this year A Pigeon Sat on a Branch... earned only $200,000 at the US box office. Maybe Labyrinth of Lies, Germany's submission, which opens September 25th can fill that semi-annual slot of foreign hit that doesn't wait for its Oscar fate to make a stir.
* I'm fudging to include Clouds of Sils Maria I know. It's surely ineligible for France's Oscar submission as its more than 50% English. If you remove it from the list, the film that enters at the lowest rung is The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared from Swedish director Felix Herngren. It earned nearly a million at the US box office but was a huge hit internationally with an additional $50 million!
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
Top Ten of 2015 Thus Far
01 Monkey Kingdom $16+
02 Amy $8+ Review
03 The Salt of the Earth $1+ Documentary Nominees Conversation
04 Iris $1+
05 The Wolfpack $1+ Review
06 Dior & I $1+
07 Meru $.8+
08 Red Army $.6+
09 Best of Enemies $.6+ Review
10 Cartel Land $.6+
11 Seymour: An Introduction $.6+ Review
12 Deli Man $.5+
13 The Hunting Ground $.4+
The list includes only one of last year's Oscar nominees The Salt of the Earth since most of them played in their correct calendar year. The big story beyond Disney's nature epic and the Amy Winehouse hit, is the success of Sundance Award Winners since The Wolfpack, Cartel Land and Meru were all hits in release. The late Albert Maysles (Grey Gardens) final full documentary feature Iris about eccentric fashion icon Iris Apfel was also well-received.
From this list we really expected Red Army to break out a little further as the Russian Olympic hockey documentary was quite entertaining and benefitted from a highly accessible international-interest storyline. If they hadn't waited for their Oscar nomination -- which they didn't get -- they might have fared better.
Here's a crazy colorful musical number from the year's #1 foreign language hit Bajrangi Bhaijaan starring Salman Khan called "Selfie Le Le Re"
When was the last time you saw a Bollywood film in theaters? Do you seek out the buzz titles from these categories?
Reader Comments (17)
Amy was the first documentary I saw in theatre. I intentionally ignored the non-fiction films forever because I thought they would be boring and too serious. I was wrong! I'll catch The Salt of the Earth which will be screened at local film festival later this month. Looking forward to see more docs and fortunately it's becoming quite a thing at where I live, lots of hot titles coming up (Malala, Iris, etc.).
Thanks to Film Experience's coverage on both categories, I'm inspired to expand my cinematic horizon and it's been rewarding :)
I used to be a big Bollywood fan in the late 90's/ early 2000's. Now I just dabble. But anyone interested in the fairly current scene should check out "Shuddh Desi Romance" from 2013.
It stars Parineeti Chopra, a terrific young Indian superstar with a distinctly "Elaine from Seinfeld" vibe.
Here's a musical snippet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=varo0G9I-gk
Parineeti's glamorous cousin, Priyanka Chopra (who's been a top Bollywood heroine for over a decade) is the first Hindi film star to headline her own major American network TV series. It's an FBI action drama called "Quantico", debuting September 27th on NBC
I don't often see documentaries in theatres. Recently, though, I did see Amy. I enjoyed it, although it was exactly the film I expected it to be. That's not the film's fault - I just guess that Amy's decline is a familiar story, especially to Brits. But the film deserves its success.
On the foreign language front, I do wish more international films were more successful at the box office.
I lived in India for 13 months so I saw Hindi films somewhat regularly. As far as great dance numbers go I enjoyed Tu Meri from Bang Bang! (All about Hrithik Roshan's moves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAOIbHBEvi0). Also worth checking out is Haider in its entirety--it's a Hindi adaptation of Hamlet set in the disputed mountainous Kashmir region and the "play within a play" Bismil is flawless (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwVZUdlCWz4).
Otherwise I wouldn't say I'm a huge fan of Bollywood, anymore than I'm a big fan of mass-appeal big studio productions in the U.S.! It does seem a little strange (but makes total sense) to me that foreign film box office, which is so often associated with being somewhat (vaguely) "art house" is being dominated by very mainstream and generic productions (which is what makes it to the U.S.).
Phoenix and Wild Tales I absolutely loved and can't wait to check out again.
I love Bollywood films, but I've never had the pleasure of seeing one in a theater. They never bring them to the cinemas near me. :(
a) I've seen Phoenix, Wild Tales, Timbuktu and Clouds of Sils Maria from the foreign films; only The Wolfpack from the docs.
b) I definitely seek out the buzzier foreign films. I can't complain about theatres not showing foreign films if I don't go see them in theatres when they come to my town.
c) Nathaniel's comment re: Wild Tales box office gross
It's rather depressing to think about.
d) Nathaniel, apropos the recent podcast, I'll See You in My Dreams already sent out screeners to AMPAS voters.
I watch my fair share of foreign language films, but sadly I just haven't seen much Bollywood stuff. I definitely need to see more. As usual, I am months behind on my docs. I'll see a handful of them, just not sure when. Great post.
Arkaan -- B) THIS. D) that's a smart move. That film could surprise in some ways come year end celebrations.
wow ive only seen amy this year from this list. I need to see more docs.
For what it's worth, I was wrong about Priyanka Chopra's upcoming TV series, "Quantico". It's on ABC, not NBC. She also happens to be in one of the movies on your box-office list, "Dil Dhadakne Do"; it's a romantic comedy about wealthy Indians on a luxury cruise. I wouldn't really recommend the film, but a couple of the musical numbers are fun. There's an elaborate one impressively shot in one long take:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCEdTq3j-0U
and this, one, Girls Like to Swing, neatly dolled up in Chicago/ Gatsby-esque style:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTWGBaTV_Ig
Priyanka's the tall girl in the audience who's eventually coaxed into the number. The main one onstage is peachy Anushka Sharma,
You all must see Brazil's The Second Mother. Terrific.
I've seen five from each list. Haven't seen a Bollywood film since... 2002 or so? I haven't traditionally gone in heavily for documentaries, either, but that has changed in the past year.
Re: foreign films, I see a lot of them at festivals, which is good, because that often seems like the only place where they remain a relevant part of the conversation. It's kind of painful when great, varied, boundary pushing films like A Pigeon...., The Tribe, The Look of Silence, Saint Laurent make these huge splashes at festivals and then you hardly ever hear about them again.
I've decided to watch Amy at home because I will be able to rewinding it over and over. I miss Amy Winehouse. She's not coming back.
Roark- and I'll add that it's also painful when they make waves and then you have to wait a year to see them. We had to wait from Venice 2014 to June 2015 to see 'A Pigeon Sat on a Branch,' from Cannes 2014 to Summer 2015 for The Tribe, and now we're likely waiting from Sundance 2015 to Winter/Spring 2016 for The Witch. And then, of course, there are the protracted waiting times for Xavier Dolan films. I don't get it. Why not take advantage of all the buzz immediately after it happens?
Interestingly, by skipping this week's box office, you also skipped a movie that may well topped the foreign language list by the end of the year: Mexico's animated movie Un gallo con much huevos, which made over 3 million this weekend.
And can we talk about what that guy is carrying in the poster for Baahubali: The Beginning?
I miss Amy Winehouse. She's not coming back.