French hit Intouchables leads a number of successful indie comedies in Europe this autumn.

French comedy Intouchables continues to dazzle in France in its third week, holding off US blockbuster debut Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 for a further $16.2m for $59.7m.

The comedy last weekend surged past Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 to become the second biggest film of the year in France behind Pathe comedy Rien A Declarer (8.1m admissions/$69m), which it should overtake next weekend. 

On Tuesday [Nov 22] Gaumont’s surprise smash had drawn in 7.3m admissions in only three weeks, which places it eighth among total admission for French films released since 1980.

Based on a true story, Intouchables starsFrancois Cluzet and TV comedian Omar Sy in the true story of the unlikely friendship between a quadriplegic aristocrat and a young man from the Paris projects.

Germany and Spain are among major European markets to release the film next year. No UK deal has been confirmed.

Intouchables is one of a number of local comedy hits impressing in Europe, after the US blockbuster-dominated summer. In Italy, Medusa Film’s I Soliti Idioti, also in its third week, scored another $1.2m for $13.5m cumulative to remain among the top three films.

The adaptation of a popular local TV series retains key elements director Enrico Lando and actors Fabrizio Biggio and Francesco Mandelli, and is now the biggest local hit since a string of major Italian successes between January and March of this year. It currently ranks just outside the top ten films of the year to date.

In Belgium, SFD’s comedy Code 37 has become the second biggest local title released this year in its fourth week after another $186,335 for $2.4m while in Denmark comedy Klassefesten is still playing among the top three films in its sixth week and stands at $5.1m cumulative, making it the sixth best performance of films released in Denmark this year.

In Poland ITI Cinema’s comedy Listy Do M took a further $1.5m for $3.9m in its second week to stand as the territory’s seventh biggest local production of 2011.

In Switzerland local drama Der Verdingbub has been performing well against The Adventure Of Tintin and now Twilight: Breaking Dawn and at $1.7m is easily the territory’s biggest local production of the year.

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