The May rental, which seemed sleepy and predictable a week ago, suddenly came to life thanks to Guy Ritchie. His new crime thriller Dirty Money not only led the Russian box office, but also became the first foreign release in a long time, which, without any reservations or discounts, imposed a struggle on domestic family hits and came out with a serious margin. According to the EAIS, the film collected about 168 million rubles over the weekend. In second place is the family comedy starring Milana Khametova (61 million), and the American horror film Obsession closes the top three (about 38 million). Izvestia analyzes the results of the Russian box office over the past weekend.

Gangsters vs fairy tales

British director Guy Ritchie never ceases to pamper the audience with branded action movies. After a number of audience-successful TV series like “Gentlemen”, “Gangsterlands” and “Young Sherlock”, he released the full meter of “Dirty Money”. The Russian public consistently reacts to the usual mix of criminal humor, expensive suits, charismatic men with guns, and dynamic editing. The stars of the first magnitude, Jake Gyllenhaal and Henry Cavill, also became an additional advantage. As a result, the film started from the first place of the national box office, earning about 168 million rubles for its debut weekend.

— Guy Ritchie is very popular in Russia, his films traditionally receive a lot of attention. And the hybrid genre of comedy and action, coupled with famous actors, motivates viewers to go to the cinema, rather than waiting for an online release,” Olga Zinyakova, president of the KARO cinema chain, said in an interview with Izvestia.

Another thing is also important: “Dirty Money” was released on an official wide release, and did not exist in the gray area of pre-show service, as has often happened with foreign projects in recent years. This is a crucial moment for cinemas. The market has clearly missed a Hollywood product that can be fully advertised, discussed, and marketed as a big event. Moreover, the competition on the date turned out to be moderate: there were practically no major Russian releases at the end of May.

The second place went to the family comedy “Not alone at home 3: Graduation” with the star of the youth audience Milana Khametova. The third part of the franchise about schoolchildren exposing criminals earned 61 million rubles. This is a strong result for the series: it is slightly worse than the second part, which started with 67 million rubles, but better than the first, which collected 42.6 million rubles in its debut weekend. The viewer knows the format well, understands the mood of the film and comes for proven entertainment.

The main surprise of the weekend was the third place of the comedy horror “Obsession” by 26-year-old director Curry Barker. The novelty earned about 38 million rubles and managed to outpace some of the more expensive and ambitious releases. In the format of grotesque satire, the film explores the themes of toxic relationships, codependency and the dangers of unhealthy attachment.

In the story, the shy guy Bear is unrequitingly in love with his girlfriend Nikki. In an esoteric store, he buys a magic wand and makes a wish that the girl loves him more than anything in the world. The wish comes true, but Nikki’s feelings turn into an aggressive, frightening and suffocating obsession.

— Horror films often break into the top 10, but in this case, the scale of the release and the volume of the marketing campaign are more important than the genre itself. Horror films have their own devoted audience. In addition, the film had no direct competitors in the niche, and the topic of relationships additionally stimulated couples going to the cinema,” Zinyakova emphasized.

Family cinema is losing its monopoly

On the fourth line is the Russian adventure comedy “Bogatyrs”, which collected about 33 million rubles. Despite the impressive number of sessions — almost 10,000 — the film started noticeably weaker than expected. A year ago, such a release would have almost automatically claimed leadership, but now it turns out to be just one of many.

The fifth place is held by the animation project “Leo and Tig: The Road to Baikal” directed by Anton Lanshakov, released by NMG Film Distribution. In the second week of distribution, the cartoon collected about 28 million rubles and brought the total box office to almost 90 million.

The story of the journey of two friends, Leo the leopard and Tiga the tiger cub, has become part of a large animation franchise of the Steam Train studio. The characters speak in the voices of famous actors, including Alexandra Ursulyak, Agnia Kuznetsova and Daniil Eldarov.

The short film “Farewell” dropped from the leading position to the sixth place, behind which, in all likelihood, the Hollywood films “The Devil Wears Prada 2” and “The End of the World Project” are hidden. Over the weekend, the project added another 26 million rubles to the box office. And the Kravchuk brothers’ recent rental leader Kommersant, starring Alexander Petrov, dropped to seventh place, earning another 24 million.

The average ticket price continues to rise. For some releases, it already confidently exceeds 500 rubles. According to Olga Zinyakova, prices did rise slightly during the holidays, but this difference will be offset in the coming weeks.

Next weekend could bring Richie a serious competitor. The biopic “Michael” about the king of pop music Michael Jackson is being released. The singer was played by his nephew Jafar Jackson. The film has already set an opening record among musical biopics, collecting $217 million.