The Nazi-era drama “This Life” and Mads Mikkelsen-starrer “A Royal Affair” beat Hollywood tentpoles at local box office.
BERLIN – Danish period drama is ruling over Hollywood imports at the local box office with Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis’s Nazi-era drama This Life and Nikolaj Arcel’s award-winning A Royal Affair the two most successful films of the year in the territory.
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This Life, the true story of a group of Danish innkeepers who took up arms against the Germans during the Nazi occupation, has become one of the top grossing Danish films of all time, earning more than $10 million in local release. To compare, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, the top-grossing film in Denmark last year, earned $11 million. This Life’s Danish take is nearly double that of Marvel’s The Avengers.
Unless knocked off its perch by upcoming blockbusters Dark Knight Rises or The Amazing Spider-Man, This Life will end 2012 as the highest-grossing film of the year in Denmark. This Life will screen at the Karlovy Vary International Festival, which kicks off June 29.
Arcel’s A Royal Affair, which stars Mads Mikkelsen as an 18th century royal physician who has an illicit affair with the Danish queen, has earned $6.5 million so far in local release. The film won Arcel and co-writer Bodil Steensen-Leth the best screenplay honor at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival while Royal Affair co-star Mikkel Boe Folsgaard took the best actor nod. Metrodome is set to bow the film in the U.K. June 15.
Trailer for A Royal Affair
Release Dates
| Germany | – | 16 February 2012 (Berlin International Film Festival) (premiere) |
| Denmark | – | 29 March 2012 |
| Estonia | – | 30 March 2012 |
| Sweden | – | 13 April 2012 |
| Germany | – | 19 April 2012 |
| Ireland | – | 15 June 2012 |
| UK | – | 15 June 2012 |
| Australia | – | 21 June 2012 |
| New Zealand | – | 28 June 2012 |
| Netherlands | – | 23 August 2012 |
| Argentina | – | 13 September 2012 |
| Norway | – | 14 September 2012 |
| France | – | October 2012 |