Local language fare is continuing its strong start to 2014 at the Russian box office as director Oleg Stephcehnko’s horror adaptation, Viy, is reportedly on track for a record opening for a 3D film in the country.
Viy, which premiered across Russia on Thursday, had taken an estimated $17 million (600 million rubles) by Sunday night, producer Alexey Petrukhin said.
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A faithful adaptation of Nikolay Gogol‘s classic Russian horror story, starring an international cast that includes Jason Flemyng and Charles Dance as well as Russia’s Alexey Chadov, the film opened to $2.5 million, before adding $3.2 million Friday and $6 million Saturday.
The film, based on a novel written by Gogol, the classic Ukrainian-born Russian writer of the 1800s, was last adapted for the screen in Russia by Georgy Kropachev and Konstantin Ershov in 1967. The new film, which shot on location in the Czech Republic, reprises the classic story of an ancient evil force that is awoken deep in the bowels of a monastery after the death of a beautiful maiden.
The film’s early success seems to confirm a trend, after a strong start for Russian films at the local box office over the New Year holidays, when seasonal comedy Yolki 3 (Christmas Tree 3), produced by Timur Bekmambetov, took more than $32 million following its Dec. 26 release.
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