It is difficult to imagine what the mood was like at the inaugural Cannes film festival, which this year reaches its 60th birthday.

The concept of an event celebrating cinema in all its manifestations and pitting films against each other competitively was still relatively novel back in 1946. The seaside resort was also looking to extend its tourist season. So altruism had to rub shoulders with commercial pragmatism from the outset.

During my first Cannes in the mid-1970s, I was walking at sunset with a colleague who had been attending since 1957. He looked out across the Cote d'Azur and wistfully sighed as he recalled a less frantic time when it was still possible for all attendees to be invited to closing ceremonies. More than anything, it solidified my conviction not to wax nostalgic about the event when I was old enough to glance in the rear-view mirror.

Yes, Cannes continues to grow and demands a logistical rigour to accomplish the simplest of pursuits. Then, as now, it was as much marketplace as showcase with the porn industry much in evidence. Cinema lions shared the stage (not literally) with Linda Lovelace and Edy Williams. The tension between the official festival and the Directors' Fortnight was unbridled but such additions as Un Certain Regard and the Camera d'Or had yet to be inaugurated.

Death, taxes and the sky-high prices on the French Riviera are the three certainties of life. Simply put, c'est Cannes! But one disturbing facet of the festival as it has matured is that it has become increasingly difficult to find the unsung gems among the hundreds of films screened. They may indeed not be there; replaced by manufactured discoveries. The cost of doing business at the festival is such that the sleeper successes must be orchestrated rather than stumbled across in some market-screen shoebox. It is a not so subtle evolution of all significant film festivals and it would be foolish to believe that the purpose of these events would remain consistent while the marketplace evolved in a fashion that no longer accommodated happy accidents.

Diva demands attention

Back in the early 1980s, when one could trawl the market for the undiscovered, I was tipped off about a French film that had already opened and closed in Paris without notice. There were seven people in the cinema at the outset (four at the fade). After the screening, I rushed to my typewriter and wrote what we laughingly call a "money" review that said the film was "potentially the most commercial French movie in the past decade".

The film was Diva and while it may have been an extreme case, there always seemed to be two or three worthy films one could promote out of Cannes and other A-list festivals every year.

During my first Cannes I met Fellini, Resnais, Bunuel and two emerging US film-makers, Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese. I spent time on Robert Altman's yacht (an invitation extended as a result of an earlier interview) and hung with The Conversation gang thanks to my friendship with actor Allen Garfield. It was fun and the sort of introduction to the behemoth everyone should be so fortunate to experience.

David Cronenberg was my neighbour at the Hotel des Roses and after closing night ceremonies (I wangled one of those impossible-to-get invitations) I wound up at the casino playing vingt-et-un with Francis Coppola and Ms Lovelace. The convergence of high and low art was not lost on this scribe and if that were to disappear from the fabric of Cannes it would be a tragic loss.

So happy anniversary, and may the next 60 be as eventful and rewarding.

[s19] Feedback: klad1213@ca.rr.comHogs cruise past Bean

Wild Hogs kicked Mr Bean's Holiday off the top spot this weekend after expanding to an additional four territories, including Turkey, and generating $7.6m. The suburban biker comedy has grossed $55.4m to date after eight weeks in the chart. Mr Bean's Holiday took $7.6m from 47 territories in its sixth week, bringing its total to an impressive $156.2m. Sci-fi thriller Next opened with $5.3m from 12 territories at the weekend while new Japanese fantasy film Gegege No Kitaro took $2.5m in its home territory. And UK-Indian co-production Ta Ra Rum Pum generated $2.2m from 519 screens in 17 territories. Epic Movie saw a 197% increase this weekend and grossed $2.2m, as it opened in a further four territories including Italy and Denmark, while Curse Of The Golden Flower saw a 114% boost after expansion, taking $1.2m over the three-day period.

Analysis: International box-office Weekend april 27-29
(Last3-day
week)Film (origin)gross $ScrsCume $Terr
1(2)Wild Hogs (US)$7,622,0003,185$55,431,00040
2(1)Mr Bean's Holiday (US-UK-Fr)$7,419,5414,196$156,242,11547
3(4)Shooter (US)$5,464,7792,119$28,106,13747
4NewNext (US)$5,356,3511,471$5,372,05312
5(3)Perfect Stranger (US)$4,159,4532,555$27,790,04348
6(5)300 (US)$3,818,2163,537$223,766,78352
7(6)The Reaping (US)$3,801,0522,219$26,797,27141
8(9)Detective Conan: Jolly Roger... (Jap)$3,274,182328$10,039,5451
9(7)Sunshine (US-UK)$2,727,0242,545$22,844,73540
10NewGegege No Kitaro (Jap)$2,563,840313$2,563,8401
11(19)The Number 23 (US)$2,502,068949$33,002,69616
12(34)Epic Movie (US)$2,294,124811$41,215,25216
13*Babel (US)$2,279,426435$87,936,1327
14NewTa Ra Rum Pum (UK-Ind)$2,273,849519$2,273,84917
15(8)Meet The Robinsons (US)$2,218,0002,765$45,494,00027
16(10)Music And Lyrics (US)$1,977,5051,288$90,811,25331
17(11)Crayon Shinchan 15 (Jap)$1,954,624303$6,179,9321
18(12)Paradise Murdered (S Kor)$1,921,754313$11,342,8191
19(13)TMNT (US-HK)$1,638,2382,167$29,723,67331
20(17)The Lives Of Others (Ger)$1,468,986691$47,598,41913
21*Premonition (US)$1,406,073442$12,355,5754
22(14)Mio Fratello E Figlio Unico (Fr-It)$1,367,185477$4,975,8341
23(18)Fracture (US)$1,327,555430$4,193,7115
24(15)The Good Shepherd (US)$1,299,819684$28,402,48713
25*Curse Of The Golden Flower (Chi-HK)$1,298,758521$61,213,72215
26NewPlease Don't Go (Fr)$1,249,817362$1,249,8172
27(16)Hannibal Rising (Czech-Fr-US-UK)$1,165,851518$49,848,3598
28(25)Disturbia (US)$1,046,202526$5,371,2716
29(31)Bridge To Terabithia (US)$1,032,8771,237$29,675,67414
30(22)Blades Of Glory (US)$995,123376$9,857,4063
31(20)The Last Legion (Fr-US-UK)$991,758425$3,465,7642
32*The Messengers (US)$966,269534$11,243,3579
33(23)Tokyo Tower: Mom And Me And... (Jap)$943,816316$6,858,5111
34NewBunt (S Kor)$932,756253$1,199,5031
35(24)My Tutor Friend 2 (S Kor)$917,462242$2,952,4121
*Re-entry. For the full chart, see ScreenDaily.com - (c) Screen International, compiled by Leonard Klady
North America - Three-day weekend April 27-29 - Top 30
RankFilm (Origin) DistributorWeek3-dayScrsScr%Total
gross $avg $changegross $
1(1)Disturbia (US) Paramount3$9,023,8352,047$4,408-31$52,109,598
2(-)The Invisible (US) Buena VistaNEW$7,717,3092,019$3,822 -$7,717,309
3(-)Next (US) ParamountNEW$7,133,0492,725$2,618 -$7,133,049
4(2)Fracture (US) New Line3$6,814,7142,443$2,789-38$21,075,259
5(4)Blades Of Glory (US) Paramount5$5,164,3643,056$1,690-33$108,050,741
6(7)Hot Fuzz (UK-US-Fr) Focus Features2$4,876,8671,272$3,834-17$12,601,055
7(6)Meet The Robinsons (US) Buena Vista5$4,840,9722,461$1,967-31$88,354,540
8(5)Vacancy (US) Sony Pictures2$4,112,5022,551$1,612-46$13,780,060
9(-)The Condemned (US) Lionsgate NEW$3,807,5952,310$1,648 -$2,807,595
10(8)Are We Done Yet' (US) Sony Pictures4$3,450,9222,701$1,278-33$43,868,838
11(9)In The Land Of Women (US) Warner Bros2$2,657,4252,155$1,233-44$8,566,083
12(-)Kickin It Old School (US) Yari Film, Freestyle ReleasingNEW$2,541,4191,816$1,399 -$2,541,419
13(10)Perfect Stranger (US) Sony Pictures3$2,172,3232,197$989-47$21,590,618
14(11)Wild Hogs (US) Buena Vista9$1,840,9941,602$1,149-35$158,723,493
15(12)300 (US) Warner Bros8$1,387,4661,005$1,381-38$206,897,885
16(18)The Hoax (US) Miramax4$760,550981$775-38$6,228,666
17(16)Shooter (US) Paramount6$751,524718$1,047-46$45,787,043
18(22)The Namesake (US) Fox Searchlight8$721,024320$2,253-5$10,771,198
19(14)The Reaping (US) Warner Bros4$712,294933$763-57$24,064,624
20(15)Grindhouse (US) The Weinstein Company4$576,130618$932-59$23,887,068
21(13)Pathfinder (US) 20th Fox3$540,519782$691-71$9,436,054
22(20)TMNT (HK-US) Warner Bros6$492,467710$694-49$53,051,256
23(19)Firehouse Dog (US) 20th Fox4$463,494659$703-55$12,689,837
24(-)Ta Ra Rum Pum (Ind-US) Yash Raj FilmsNEW$425,10285$5,001 -$425,102
25(28)Black Book (Bel-Ger-Neth-UK) Sony Pictures Classics3$391,356103$3,800+68$1,174,583
26(17)Redline (US) Chicago Pictures3$381,329610$625-71$6,678,765
27(-)Year Of The Dog (US) Paramount Vantage3$309,31833$9,373 -$627,916
28(25)The Lives Of Others (Ger) Sony Pictures Classics11$305,838189$1,618-2$9,067,448
29(21)Aqua Teen Hunger Force: The Movie (US) First Look Pictures3$265,716363$732-69$5,265,735
30(24)Night At The Museum (US) 20th Fox19$260,796284$918-33$250,210,624
$1 = $1.00 - Nielsen EDI
Year-on-year performance - -25.2% on equivalent week, 2006 (top 30)
Top 30 total 3-day gross $74.9m
UK/Ireland - Three-day weekend April 27-29 - Top 10
RankFilm (Origin) DistributorWeek3-day3-daySitesSite%Total
gross £gross $avg $changegross $
1(-)Next (US) Entertainment Film DistributorsNEW£795,012$1,591,616357$4,458 -$1,591,616
2(1)Wild Hogs (US) BVI3£654,684$1,310,679421$3,113-31$8,543,269
3(2)Fracture (US) Entertainment Film Distributors2£577,881$1,156,919361$3,205-32$3,788,112
4(3)Mr Bean's Holiday (UK-US-Fr) UPI5£507,064$1,015,143472$2,151-39$40,958,074
5(4)Blades Of Glory (US) Paramount Pictures Int'l4£462,622$926,170353$2,624-30$9,818,102
6(5)Alpha Dog (US) Icon Film Distribution2£362,861$726,448197$3,688-20$2,160,124
7(-)The Painted Veil (US) Momentum PicturesNEW£261,130$522,783140$3,734 -$522,783
8(6)Shooter (US) Paramount Pictures Int'l3£256,416$513,345292$1,758-40$3,971,139
9(-)Ta Ra Rum Pum (Ind-US) Yash Raj FilmsNEW£231,835$464,13450$9,283 -$464,134
10(9)The Lives Of Others (Ger) Lionsgate UK3£216,196$432,82598$4,417-23$2,281,776
$1 = £0.50 Screen International
Year-on-year performance +1.9% on equivalent week, 2006 (top 20)
Top 20 total 3-day gross $10.9m
France - Week ending April 24 - Top 10
RankFilm (Origin) DistributorWeek7-day7-dayScrsScreen%Total
gross EURgross $avg $changegross $
1(-)Mr Bean's Holiday (UK-US-Fr) Studio CanalNEWEUR2,138,345$2,906,940771$3,770 -$2,906,940
2(-)Shooter (US) PPINEWEUR1,024,490$1,392,727248$5,616 -$1,392,727
3(1)Le Prix A Payer (Fr) Wild Bunch3EUR941,425$1,279,805444$2,882-43$7,106,611
4(3)Hunting And Gathering (Fr) Pathe Distribution5EUR720,145$978,990470$2,083-42$13,786,174
5(2)Perfect Stranger (US) Gaumont Sony Pictures Films2EUR704,093$957,168364$2,630-48$2,780,904
6(5)Bridge To Terabithia (US) SND4EUR567,305$771,213228$3,383-47$6,642,392
7(-)The Reaping (US) Warner BrosNEWEUR559,089$760,045197$3,858 -$760,045
8(4)Sunshine (UK-US) 20th Fox2EUR494,817$672,671343$1,961-56$2,185,740
9(-)Jean De La Fontaine: Le Defi (Fr) Rezo FilmsNEWEUR463,357$629,904233$2,703 -$629,904
10(6)Goodbye Bafana (Bel-Lux-S Africa-UK) PPI2EUR441,434$600,100316$1,899-50$1,794,447
$ figures approximated on a $5.57 average ticket price - Le Film Francais
Year-on-year performance -48.4% on equivalent week, 2006 (top 20)
Top 20 total 7-day gross $13.9m
Australia - Four-day weekend April 26-29 - Top 10
RankFilm (Origin) DistributorWeek4-day4-dayScrsScreen%Total
gross a$gross $avg $changegross $
1(1)Shooter (US) PPI2a$975,191$811,105188$4,314-34$2,775,974
2(3)300 (US) Warner Bros4a$727,150$604,799278$2,176-38$11,009,483
3(4)Perfect Stranger (US) Spri2a$669,591$556,925207$2,690-32$1,917,171
4(-)The Number 23 (US) RoadshowNEWa$565,193$470,093111$4,235 -$626,856
5(2)Mr Bean's Holiday (UK-US-Fr) PPI/UPI5a$562,454$467,815247$1,894-52$13,676,361
6(6)Disturbia (US) PPI3a$447,828$372,476206$1,808-40$3,493,972
7(5)Meet The Robinsons (US) BVI5a$395,824$329,222238$1,383-56$6,775,841
8(8)Stomp The Yard (US) Spri3a$309,480$257,407118$2,181-45$2,965,995
9(10)Wild Hogs (US) BVI8a$309,172$257,150176$1,461-25$13,820,645
10(-)Curse Of The Golden Flower (Chi-HK) PPI/UPINEWa$301,554$250,81464$3,919 -$327,640
$1 = a$1.20 - Motion Picture Distributors Association Of Australia
Year-on-year performance -28.8% on equivalent week, 2006 (top 20)
Top 20 total 4-day gross $5.8m
Germany - Four-day weekend April 26-29 - Top 10
RankFilm (Origin) DistributorWeek4-day4-dayScrsScreen%Total
gross EURgross $avg $changegross $
1(1)Wild Hogs (US) BVI2EUR1,231,256$1,681,355583$2,884-45$5,280,371
2(2)Vollidiot (Ger) Senator Film Verleih3EUR533,220$728,144513$1,419-39$4,164,799
3(3)Mr Bean's Holiday (UK-US-Fr) UPI5EUR419,610$573,003766$748-48$20,584,774
4(4)300 (US) Warner Bros4EUR394,742$539,044648$832-49$13,368,584
5(5)Sunshine (UK-US) 20th Fox2EUR268,783$367,039452$812-46$1,247,494
6(6)Shooter (US) UPI2EUR262,415$358,344252$1,422-40$1,120,672
7(7)Die Wilden Huhner Und Die Liebe (Ger) Constantin Film4EUR207,830$283,804523$543-46$3,761,027
8(8)Perfect Stranger (US) Spri3EUR182,650$249,420381$655-39$1,598,651
9(-)Catch And Release (US) SpriNEWEUR159,592$217,933100$2,179-$217,933
10(9)The Reaping (US) Warner Bros2EUR114,262$156,032202$772-37$875,600
$1 = EUR0.73 - Nielsen EDI
Year-on-year performance -52.7% on equivalent week, 2006 (top 15)
Top 15 total 4-day gross $5.6m
Italy - Three-day weekend April 27-29 - Top 10
RankFilm (Origin) DistributorWeek3-day3-dayScrsScreen%Total
gross EURgross $avg $changegross $
1(-)Epic Movie (US) 20th FoxNEWEUR1,106,474$1,510,957247$6,117-$1,510,957
2(1)Mio Fratello E Figlio Unico (It-Fr) Warner Bros2EUR901,579$1,231,161477$2,581-36$4,592,279
3(-)The Number 23 (US) 01 DistribuzioneNEWEUR643,541$878,794258$3,406-$1,693,555
4(2)Wild Hogs (US) BVI2EUR465,651$635,875289$2,200-49$2,672,309
5(3)The Good Shepherd (US) Medusa Film2EUR446,945$610,330307$1,988-38$2,264,108
6(-)Voce Del Verbo Amore (It) Medusa FilmNEWEUR271,875$371,262222$1,672-$371,262
7(7)The Lives Of Others (Ger) 01 Distribuzione4EUR194,585$265,718101$2,631-16$2,304,576
8(5)Sunshine (UK-US) 20th Fox2EUR159,494$217,799167$1,304-49$906,982
9(4)Mr Bean's Holiday (UK-US-Fr) UPI4EUR156,541$213,766181$1,181-63$6,755,688
10(6)Perfect Stranger (US) Spri3EUR113,661$155,211113$1,374-59$2,064,068
$1 = EUR0.73 Cinetel
Year-on-year performance -48.2% on equivalent week, 2006 (top 20)
Top 20 total 3-day gross $6.8m
Mexico - Three-day weekend April 27-29 - Top 10
RankFilm (Origin) DistributorWeek3-day3-dayScrsScreen%Total
gross pesogross $avg $changegross $
1(-)The Messengers (US) GussiNEW7,364,904$673,948255$2,643 -$673,948
2(1)Perfect Stranger (US) Spri26,477,561$592,749300$1,976-36$2,008,290
3(2)Wild Hogs (US) BVI44,958,230$453,718349$1,300-28$5,853,709
4(6)Happily N'Ever After (Ger-US) Videocine24,695,554$429,681173$2,484+8$973,399
5(4)Disturbia (US) PPI24,478,240$409,795230$1,782-20$1,208,438
6(3)The Reaping (US) Warner Bros44,453,859$407,564327$1,246-31$5,180,795
7(5)Mr Bean's Holiday (UK-US-Fr) UPI43,772,138$345,181257$1,343-23$3,836,652
8(7)TMNT (HK-US) Gussi43,083,652$282,179306$922-15$3,363,346
9(9)Meet The Robinsons (US) BVI52,778,903$254,292364$699-12$7,190,904
10(8)Goal! 2 (Ger-UK-Sp) BVI32,421,984$221,631211$1,050-33$1,726,243
$1 = peso10.93 - Screen International, Compiled by Leonard Klady
Year-on-year performance -41.7% on equivalent week, 2006 (top 10)
Top 10 total 3-day gross $4.1m
Hong Kong - Week ending April 25 - Top 10
RankFilm (Origin) DistributorWeek7-day7-dayScrsScr%Total
gross hk$gross $avg $changegross $
1(7)Love Is Not All Around (HK) Gold Label Entertainment2hk$6,197,365$794,53436$22,070+971$868,742
2(-)Epic Movie (US) 20th FoxNEWhk$1,611,565$206,61126$7,947 -$206,611
3(-)Shooter (US) Intercontinental Film DistNEWhk$1,490,346$191,07019$10,056 -$191,070
4(1)Mr Bean's Holiday (UK-US-Fr) UPI3hk$1,448,850$185,75033$5,629-70$2,579,501
5(2)Spider Lilies (Tai) Deltamac2hk$847,142$108,60810$10,861-53$341,721
6(-)The Painted Veil (US) Intercontinental Film DistNEWhk$555,305$71,1935$14,239 -$71,193
7(-)Miss Potter (UK-US) Golden SceneNEWhk$535,438$68,64610$6,865 -$68,646
8(4)The Reaping (US) Warner Bros3hk$238,726$30,60622$1,391-81$643,912
9(-)Almost Love (S Kor) LfdlNEWhk$201,747$25,8654$6,466 -$25,865
10(3)Meet The Robinsons (US) Intercontinental Film Dist3hk$198,681$25,47221$1,213-85$777,098
$1 = hk$7.80 - Mpaa
Year-on-year performance +44.3% on equivalent week, 2006 (top 10)
Top 10 total 7-day gross $1.7m
South Korea - Three-day weekend April 27-29 (93% screens reporting) - Top 10
RankFilm (Origin) DistributorWeek3-day3-dayScrsScreen%Total
gross wongross $avg $changegross $
1(1)Paradise Murdered (S Kor) MK Pictures31,663,989,000$1,790,872270$6,633-23$10,644,939
2(-)Shooter (US) CJ EntertainmentNEW1,039,033,000$1,118,262155$7,215 -$1,386,720
3(3)The Reaping (US) Warner Bros2914,332,500$984,053133$7,399-10$2,787,962
4(2)My Tutor Friend 2 (S Kor) CJ Entertainment2842,649,000$906,903223$4,067-29$2,849,306
5(-)Bunt (S Kor) Showbox/MediaplexNEW829,245,500$892,478229$3,897 -$1,122,063
6(-)TMNT (HK-US) Lotte EntertainmentNEW409,963,500$441,224207$2,132 -$486,239
7(4)Meet Mr Daddy (S Kor) Cinema Service2381,126,500$410,188211$1,944-48$1,697,221
8(5)The Show Must Go On (S Kor) Lotte Entertainment4193,228,500$207,96399$2,101-56$6,331,871
9(7)Meet The Robinsons (US) Spri2157,193,500$169,18093$1,819-50$586,925
10(9)The Good Shepherd (US) UPI2128,074,000$137,84080$1,723-48$540,293
$1 = won929.15 - Kofic
Year-on-year performance -25.1% on equivalent week, 2006 (top 10)
Top 10 total 3-day gross $7.1m
The Screen Index Cumulative grosses to May 4 issue
Weekly total: $130.7m
Year-on-year comparison N/A
Week-on-week comparison N/A
The weekly total is the sum of the grosses in the top nine markets