Heroes of winter time: "Pinocchio", "Cheburashka" and "Prostokvashino" in the top attendance

The top five at the Russian box office this weekend consists of three Russian film tales, these are Cheburashka 2, Prostokvashino and Pinocchio, but it also includes two American films: The Maid starring Amanda Seyfried and Sidney Sweeney and Marty the Magnificent, for which Timothy Chalamet has just received a "The Golden Globe." And if the fairy tale is out of competition in terms of the number of viewers, then the "Maid" managed to break into the second place of the box office. Meanwhile, the leader, Cheburashka 2, broke the 5 billion ruble mark last week, and everyone is wondering if he will be able to break the record of the first part, if not in attendance, then at least in fees, which would also look very impressive. Izvestia summarizes the results of the first movie weekend after the New Year holidays.

Now they are Cheburashki

Cheburashka 2 follows in the footsteps of its predecessor. Now it is the second film in the history of Russian distribution at the box office, and it is second only to the first part, which earned 6.8 billion rubles in 2023. The second part now has 5 billion 455 million rubles, but the rental has not yet been completed, and cinemas this weekend allocated the film more than a third of all screenings in the country. Next time, they are unlikely to significantly reduce their number. Over the past weekend, the film earned 337 million rubles, and next weekend it will be even less, according to the film distribution law, and the film community is following these figures with excitement. However, there is a nuance. The first Cheburashka has a total attendance of more than 22 million people. A little over 10 million tickets have been sold for the second one so far. This means that the sequel is lagging far behind in terms of the number of viewers, and the box office is due to the fact that tickets have risen in price, even if inflation has affected this market only to a small extent.

A shot from the movie Cheburashka 2

Photo: Rossiya 1 TV Channel

Indeed, during the New Year holidays, the average ticket price exceeded 500 rubles for the first time. Technically, it's not that scary: compared to the average price last New Year, the difference is just over 50 rubles. But bloggers and viewers started talking about the fact that movie tickets have become much more expensive. And they are not reassured by the fact that after the New Year, this price decreases anyway, since it is the winter holidays that bring the main money at the box office in Russia — in China it is exactly the same, even on a larger scale, let's recall last year's triumph of the animated film Nezha defeats the Dragon King, which is the highest-grossing animation as a result. in world history.

"By the end of January, ticket prices in our network will decrease significantly," Olga Zinyakova, president of the KARO cinema chain, promised Izvestia. — Plus, promotions and special offers for categories will continue to operate, now you can find tickets at the most pleasant prices, starting from 150 rubles.

A shot from the movie Cheburashka 2

Photo: Rossiya 1 TV Channel

Perhaps the average price would have been lower this weekend, but the networks launched the third Avatar, and there the price tag can reach 2,000 thousand rubles, even for a regular 2D show. Viewers are willing to pay, however, many complained that the copy was shown low—quality, with a bad image, but there is a version that this rumor was started intentionally so that people would not go to Avatar. Currently, the short films that Avatar is involved in have a running time of more than 50 thousand rubles per session, compared to 11.5 thousand rubles for Cheburashka.

"Pinocchio" goes to three billion

The second place in the weekend's collections was unexpectedly taken by the thriller "The Maid" starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney. He came out during the holidays and looked quite modest there, collecting 136 million rubles from January 8 to 11. But on the second weekend, now, he suddenly did not "fall" at all, as most often happens, but earned 133 million rubles, just slightly surpassing Prostokvashino and Pinocchio.

— "The Maid" is a spectacular mainstream thriller that the public liked and is now playing on a good sundress, the drop on the second weekend is almost zero, — confirms Olga Zinyakova. — The cast also played a role. In the frame, the star of "Euphoria" Sidney Sweeney is a rising actress with high virality, she is known in Russia. And Amanda Seyfried, known to everyone from the movie "Mamma Mia!".

A shot from the movie "The Maid"

Photo: Eurimages

In general, the backbone of the top five in the top fees is very tight. Prostokvashino took the third place, 129 million rubles, and Pinocchio took the fourth place, 122 million rubles. At the same time, it is clear that "The Maid" has evening sessions, which are more expensive, which is why she has gathered more, although she has fewer viewers than fairy tales, because they are usually given morning sessions, they can be many times cheaper. Pinocchio, for example, had 50,000 more viewers this weekend, just at a more affordable price, so the monetary result is lower, and the popular love is higher. And she remains that way.

"Given the performance of this weekend and the experience of previous years, the leaders of the New Year's battle will be able to work until at least mid—February," predicts Olga Zinyakova. — Their influence and sundress are so strong that even the brightest novelties will not prevent you from getting your due.

A shot from the movie "Pinocchio"

Photo: Hydrogen Film Company

Indeed, fairy tales are not going to stop. Pinocchio has easily crossed the threshold of 2 billion rubles and is heading towards the 3 billion level. Cinemas believe in him: this weekend he was the second after Cheburashka in the number of sessions. Everything suggests that January will still bring reports of new records and ten-digit numbers.

Against this background, it's a pity only Josh Safdie's picture "Marty the Magnificent", which, although it entered the top five box office leaders, still ended the weekend with a not very convincing 69 million rubles. It didn't help that Timothy Chalamet won the Golden Globe, and the film itself entered the tops of almost all reputable film releases in the world. The picture lost to "The Maid" in its segment, I have to admit that.

"Despite Timothy Chalamet's participation in the project, the film Marty the Magnificent is positioned as a niche festival biopic, which cuts off a certain part of the audience,— explains Olga Zinyakova. — After a marathon of family paintings, the viewer makes a choice in favor of an affordable driving thriller with vivid plot twists.

A shot from the movie "Marty the Magnificent"

Photo: A24

There will be even more "adult" content this weekend, and the competition will intensify. "Return to Silent Hill" and "Lefty" will be released, and each will take a part of the non-family audience. And only fairy tales will continue to earn money, since not all families managed to watch all three, but it's still very interesting to do it.