Croatian Rom-Com Tops 'Rise of the Guardians' in Local Box Office

In a rare success story for Central European cinema, the Croatian romantic comedy Sonja and the Bull has topped the local box office, coming in ahead of big-budget competitors Rise of the Guardians and Cloud Atlas in its second week of release.

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The feature, from director Vlatka Vorkapic, is the story of the vegetarian and animal rights activist Sonja (Judita Frankovic), who protests traditional bullfighting but faces a challenge when the persuasive Ante (Goran Bogdan) dares her to prove her love for animals by standing in front of a bull.

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Sonja and the Bull scored the best opening for a local film in 12 years in Croatia, bowing to $52 thousand (€40 thousand) on its opening weekend. In its second week in release, distributor Duplicato pulled in $74 thousand (€56.5 thousand), enough to claim the number one slot at the Croatian box office.

The tiny nation of 4.2 million inhabitants is hoping to continue its local-language winning streak with the release of two more Croatian titles early next year. The comedy Priest's Children from director Vinko Bresan (Marshal Tito's Spirit) bows January 3 and children's film Mysterious Boy, the sequel to this year's hit Koko and the Ghosts, which earned nearly $300,000 locally, goes out in early March. 

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