'Intouchables' Scores Top Opening Day for Gallic Title at French Box Office

PARIS - French film Intouchables is indeed untouchable at the box office with the drama from directing duo Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache boasting the top opening for a Gallic title in the territory so far this year.

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The film, that translates as Untouchables, was released on Nov. 2 and sold 5,800 tickets in 23 theaters for its 2 p.m. screening during its opening day in Paris and 13,911 in Paris and its surrounding suburbs in 95 theaters, the top opening performance for a French film in 2011.

Intouchables was the third-best opening for the year for any movie, behind Hollywood blockbusters Harry Potter 8and The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn. Intouchables sold 59,785 tickets in the Ile-de-France region and 191,342 in the whole territory during its first day of release for a total of 270,229 tickets sold including its pre-release premieres.

Intouchables, distributed by Gaumont in Gaul, stars Francois Cluzet as a quadriplegic man whose life changes when a young man (Omar Sy) from the nearby suburbs comes to take care of him. The film has received rave reviews from critics in France and opened to the best performance in Paris for a French movie in 2011, ahead of Maiwenn’s Festival de Cannes title Poliss.

The Weinstein Company will release the film stateside and has bought an option for the remake rights for the film, Gaumont confirmed on Thursday.

The opening is more good news for the very healthy French film biz after strong performances at the box office over the past few weeks for Poliss, and also A Monster in Paris and The Artist.