Germany’s box-office champion Til Schweiger appears to have gotten his mojo back.
Schweiger’s new film, the family dramedy Head Full of Honey, knocked Peter Jackson‘s The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies off the No. 1 spot at the German box office this weekend.
Head Full of Honey‘s take of around $7.5 million this past weekend improved on the film’s opening, a sign that the title may be getting strong word of mouth. It has grossed about $18 million (€15 million) in Germany so far for Warner Bros. If it keeps up this pace, Head Full of Honey could finish close to Schweiger’s hit Kokowaah, which grossed around $36 million in 2011.
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While fitting squarely into Schweiger’s established brand of slick family-friendly comedies, Head Full of Honey also marks a departure of sorts for the German actor-director in that it adds an element of tragedy to the laughs. The film stars beloved German comedian Dieter Hallervorden as Amandus, an aging grandfather suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. When his son, played by Schweiger, decides to commit him to an institution, Amandus flees with his granddaughter Tilda, played by Schweiger’s own daughter, Emma Tiger Schweiger, and the two go on a road trip to Venice.
The success of Head Full of Honey bodes well for the German box office, which often relies on local hits to make the difference between revenue growth and stagnation. After a generally weak year, German films staged a small comeback over the holiday season with children’s film The Little Dragon Coconut grossing around $20 million for distributor Universum, and DCM’s young adult property Bibi & Tina 2 and rom-com All Is Love from Universal taking in about $4 million each.
